Use of Chromatography in Animal Ecology

CASANAVE E.B.; ARAUJO, M.S; LÓPEZ, G.

Chromatography- The Most Versatile Method of Chemical Analysis

InTech Open Access Company

Lugar: Rijeka; Año: 2012; p. 35 - 62

There are several applications of the chromatographic science in the field of animal ecology, biology and physiology. In this chapter we will discuss the main aspects related to the use of chromatographic techniques as an ecological tool for the identification of wild species; particularly by the identification of the bile acid profiles in feces. The analysis of feces is a fundamental ecological tool which is applied in studies about population size, diet analysis and, especially, to identify the presence of a species in a certain area. The use of chromatographic techniques to identify the pattern of fecal bile acids and confirm the identity of wild collected feces is of great importance for biologists because invasive procedures such as capture and manipulation are avoided. Moreover, it is also an advantage when it is necessary to monitor those species which are elusive, threatened, nocturnal or sympatric, or exist in low densities. However, there is no a single satisfactory method for the analysis of all bile acids in biological fluids. All the methods present limitations in their specificity, analysis times or simplicity. The use of multiple analytical techniques allows a precise resolution and confirmation of complex bile acid patterns. Thus, this work demonstrates that both techniques, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), are complementary, and they should be used together to take advantage of the positive aspects of each one. Finally, our work established the validity of fecal bile acids to differentiate close related species, being useful to assess habitat use and study food habits of sympatric species. The determination of these species-specific patterns offers robust data for the elaboration of conservation strategies in the long term.