Reflections of ecological differences? Stress responses of sympatric Alpine chamois and red deer to weather, forage quality, and human disturbance

Anderwald, Pia; Andri, Seraina Campell; Palme, Rüpert

doi:10.1002/ece3.8235

Cited by 19 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…FCM analyses were conducted using an 11-oxoetiocholanolone-17-CMO:BSA enzyme immunoassay (EIA, measures group of FCM with a 5 -3 -ol-11-one structure; Möstl et al 2002 ), previously validated for red deer and chamois (Anderwald et al 2021 ; Huber et al 2003 ). These analyses require samples to be fresh and wet.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal stability of fecal cortisol metabolites in mountain-dwelling ungulates

Donini

Iacona

Pedrotti

et al. 2022

Sci Nat

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Fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) are widely used to track stress responses in wildlife and captive species. Rules of thumb suggest that samples should be collected as soon as possible after defecation, to avoid decay of FCMs. To date, however, only a few studies investigated the stability of defecated FCMs over time, and most of them were conducted in controlled laboratory conditions. Here, we investigated the stability of FCMs over seven consecutive days, in two mountain-dwelling ungulates, under natural environmental conditions using a semi-experimental approach. Fecal samples from Northern chamois Rupicapra rupicapra (n = 24) and red deer Cervus elaphus (n = 22) were collected in summer of 2020 within the Stelvio National Park, Italy, and placed in an open area above 2000 m a.s.l. For the next 7 days, we collected a portion of each sample, and all sub-samples were analyzed with an 11-oxoetiocholanolone enzyme immunoassay. Exposure, temperature, and precipitation were fitted as covariates in non-linear generalized mixed models to assess FCM variation over time, and competing models were selected using AICc. For chamois, the best model included only time as a predictor, while for red deer, it included time, precipitation, and exposure. For both species, FCM values decreased rapidly from the first days after deposition until the fourth day. For red deer, in northern-exposed samples, FCM values decreased slower than in south-exposed ones; furthermore, FCM values increased with increasing precipitation. Our results offer a solid methodological basis to wildlife researchers and practitioners interested in the investigation of the ecological factors affecting stress variation in wildlife and support the recommendation to collect samples as fresh as possible, to avoid misleading inference. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the stability of FCMs when other enzyme immunoassays are used.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal stability of fecal cortisol metabolites in mountain-dwelling ungulates

Donini

Iacona

Pedrotti

et al. 2022

Sci Nat

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“…These values were also compared with our previous baseline study and it was found that the current values are equivalent or within the baseline values for both EIAs, but greater similarity is seen especially with the values detected by the 50c EIA (50c EIA: min = 2.2; max = 131.1; median = 16.5; cortisol EIA: min = 0.3; max = 33.9; median = 5.9) [ 33 ]. Many studies have established baseline values [ 48 ] of stress hormones before analysing the effect of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors on wildlife [ 41 , 49 , 50 ]. Previous, and current, results give us confidence that our baseline values can be used in this and future studies to detect stress in koalas.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Disease and Injury on Faecal Cortisol Metabolites, as an Indicator of Stress in Wild Hospitalised Koalas, Endangered Australian Marsupials

Santamaria

Schlagloth

Valenza

et al. 2023

Veterinary Sciences

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Loss of habitat, urbanisation, climate change and its consequences are anthropogenic pressures that may cause stress in koalas. Non-invasive monitoring of faecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) can be utilised to evaluate the impact of stressors. The aim was to determine if the tetrahydrocorticosterone (50c) and cortisol enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) could be effective in measuring FCM values in wild, stressed koalas. This research included 146 koalas from the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital (AZWH) and 88 from a study conducted by Endeavour Veterinary Ecology (EVE), Queensland, Australia. Faecal samples of diseased, injured and control koalas were analysed. The effect of hospitalisation on FCM values was also investigated. Diseased and injured koalas had significantly higher FCM values than clinically healthy control animals as measured by the 50c EIA. FCM values with the cortisol EIA differed significantly between control and diseased koalas, but not between control and injured ones. Moreover, only the 50c EIA detected higher absolute values in males compared to females, and also found that females showed a more elevated response to stress manifested by injury and disease compared to males. The 50c EIA detected stress during hospitalisation better than the cortisol EIA. The cortisol EIA was also found unreliable in detecting stress in rehabilitated koalas treated with synthetic glucocorticoids as it cross-reacts with these steroids providing artificially high values.

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“…Therefore, sampling plots close to the hiking trail could be browsed during visitor-free periods at dusk, night and dawn. Additionally, Anderwald et al [39] analyzed fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels of chamois and red deer in the SNP and showed that visitor densities were apparently not a strong stressor. Furthermore, the hiking trails are mainly located at the base of the valley and hence this predictor correlates strongly with elevation (correlation coefficient of 0.74, Table S3), thus part of the effect of the distance to the next hiking trail on the probability of browsing may be explained by elevation.…”

Section: Factors Affecting the Probability Of Browsingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Wild Ungulates on Forest Regeneration in an Alpine National Park

Fluri¹,

Anderwald²,

Korner‐Nievergelt³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Browsing of wild ungulates can have profound effects on the structure and composition of forests. In the Swiss National Park, the density of wild ungulates including red deer (Cervus elaphus), ibex (Capra ibex), and chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is exceptionally high due to strict protection and the absence of large predators. We examined count data of larch (Larix decidua), cembra pine (Pinus cembra), spruce (Picea abies), upright mountain pine (Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata), and mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) of four sampling years between 1991 and 2021 and modelled how different topographic and location factors affected the probability of browsing on saplings of larch, cembra pine, and spruce. Despite the high density of wild ungulates, the numbers of saplings and young trees increased over the past 30 years. The probability of browsing on saplings was highest for larch at a height of 10 – 40 cm and increased with increasing elevation. In our study area, open grasslands are mainly located above the tree line, which might explain the positive correlation between elevation and the probability of browsing. Other factors like exposition and slope, available food resources and disturbance by humans did not have clear effects on the probability of browsing.

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Reflections of ecological differences? Stress responses of sympatric Alpine chamois and red deer to weather, forage quality, and human disturbance

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 19 publications

References 71 publications

Temporal stability of fecal cortisol metabolites in mountain-dwelling ungulates

Temporal stability of fecal cortisol metabolites in mountain-dwelling ungulates

The Effect of Disease and Injury on Faecal Cortisol Metabolites, as an Indicator of Stress in Wild Hospitalised Koalas, Endangered Australian Marsupials

The Influence of Wild Ungulates on Forest Regeneration in an Alpine National Park

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