INICSA   23916
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES EN CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Fecal cortisol metabolite levels in black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) inhabiting disturbed and non-disturbed areas of the humid Chaco region, Argentina
Autor/es:
CANTARELLI VI; PEREZ RUEDA A; KOWALEWSKI M; MASTROMONACO G; PONZIO M.F.
Lugar:
Berlin
Reunión:
Conferencia; 5th Conference of the International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology.; 2015
Institución organizadora:
International Society of Wildlife Endocrinology.
Resumen:
In the last few years, the study of how environmental stimuli influence the physiology and specifically the endocrinology of an organism became increasingly important, relying mainly on the quantification of glucocorticoids to monitor animal welfare. Most studies of cortisol levels in primates were focused on the impact of social stressors. However, one of the major concerns for the conservation of this group is the increased habitat fragmentation led by the advancement of the agricultural frontier. In this work we compared cortisol metabolite levels in howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) living in continuous and fragmented forests of the Argentine humid Chaco region, throughout the warm season. Fecal samples were collected from habituated and identified adult individuals, and extracts analyzed with an enzyme immunoassay also validated in this work (n=114) (cortisol R4866, Department of Population Health and Reproduction, Coralie Munro, UC Davis, USA).No significant differences were found in the levels of fecal cortisol metabolites in individuals inhabiting continuous (4160±244,3 ng/g (n=50)) vs. fragmented habitats (3573±242,9 ng/g (n=36)); however, a strong trend to higher concentrations was detected in individuals of the continuous forest, probably due to the high number of visitors to the Chaco National Park. The lower cortisol metabolite levels found in individuals inhabiting fragmented forests could be due to low levels of disturbance imposed by a moderate and selective logging, which has proved to be beneficial for this species with high resilience by adjusting their diet to cope with living in degraded habitats. On the other hand, and regardless of the habitat, cortisol metabolites were significantly higher in females than in males (4318,1±211,5 ng/g (n=59) vs. 3031,9±250,6 ng/g (n=27) respectively; p=0.007).Understanding how habitat quality impacts the physiological responses in primate populations is essential to build viable conservation models compatible with farming activities.