Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites reflect hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus).

ABSTRACT: Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), a taxonomically unique Arctic species, are increasingly exposed to climate and other anthropogenic changes. It is critical to develop and validate reliable tools to monitor their physiological stress response in order to assess the impacts of these changes. Here, we measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) levels in response to the administration of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the winter (1 IU/kg) and summer (2 IU/kg) using two enzyme immunoassays, one targeting primarily cortisol and the other targeting primarily corticosterone. Fecal cortisol levels varied substantially within and among individuals, and none of the animals in either challenge showed an increase in fecal cortisol following the injection of ACTH. By contrast, two of six (winter)

SUBMITTER: Di Francesco J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8046187 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature