Fecal Glucocorticoids and Thyroid Hormone Levels of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) Inhabiting Limestone Forests of Southwest Guangxi, China
Fecal Glucocorticoids and Thyroid Hormone Levels of Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) Inhabiting Limestone Forests of Southwest Guangxi, China
Feng-Yan Liu1,2,3, Ting Chen1,2,3, Yu-Hui Li1,2,3, Zheng Liu1,2,3, Jing-Jin Zheng1,2,3, You-Bang Li1,2,3* and Zhong-hao Huang1,2,3*
ABSTRACT
Environmental and physiological variables (i.e., age and sex) affect the hormone levels in primates. In this study, with non-invasive methods, we measured physiological hormones including glucocorticoids (GCs), cortisol, and thyroid hormones (THs, T3 and T4) of rhesus macaques’ (Macaca mulatta) fecal pellet sampled from the Longhushan Nature Reserve, Southwest Guangxi, China. The results indicated that cortisol was negatively correlated with ambient temperature and sunlight, whereas T4 was positively correlated with sunlight. Cortisol levels sampled from spring/winter were higher than those sampled from summer/fall, while levels of GCs and T3/T4 were not significantly different among seasons, indicating adult males have more intensive mating competition during the winter, rather than to the food intake and ambient temperature. The levels of T4 in adults were significantly higher than those in immature macaques, Also, T4 in males was significantly higher than those in females, indicating different energy intake/expenditure of rhesus macaques in different age and sex classes. Our findings provide a critical base of physiological information on the rhesus macaques inhabiting the Longhushan Nature Reserve, highlighting the importance of monitoring macaques’ physiological hormones and the needs for the further knowledge on assessing the effects of tourism and provision on macaques’ management and conservation.
To share on other social networks, click on any share button. What are these?
