Assay validation and interspecific comparison of salivary glucocorticoids in three amphibian species.

ABSTRACT: Amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of species, facing stressors ranging from habitat degradation and pollution to disease and overexploitation. Stress hormones (glucocorticoids, GCs) provide one quantitative metric of stress, and developing non-invasive methods for measuring GCs in amphibians would clarify how diverse environmental stressors impact individual health in this taxonomic group. Saliva is an advantageous matrix for quantifying GCs, as it is sampled less invasively than plasma while still detecting both baseline and acute elevation of GCs within a short timeframe. Little work has employed this method in amphibian species, and it has never been pharmacologically and biologically validated. Here, we conduct analytical, pharmacological and biological validation experi

SUBMITTER: Hammond TT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6158758 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature