Comparing plasma and faecal measures of steroid hormones in Adelie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae
Abstract
Physiological measurements of both stress and sex hormones are often used to estimate the consequences of natural or human-induced change in ecological studies of various animals. Different methods of hormone measurement exist, potentially explaining variation in results across studies; methods should be cross-validated to ensure that they correlate. We directly compared faecal and plasma hormone measurements for the first time in a wild free-living species, the Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae). Blood and faecal samples were simultaneously collected from individual penguins for comparison and assayed for testosterone and corticosterone (or their metabolites). Sex differences and variability within each measure, and correlation of values across measures were compared. For both hormones, plasma samples showed greater variation than faecal samples. Males had higher mean corticosterone concentrations than females, but the difference was only statistically significant in faecal samples. Plasma testosterone, but not faecal testosterone, was significantly higher in males than females. Correlation between sample types was poor overall, and weaker in females than in males, perhaps because measures from plasma represent hormones that are both free and bound to globulins, whereas measures from faeces represent only the free portion. Faecal samples also represent a cumulative measure of hormones over time, as opposed to a plasma 'snapshot' concentration. Our data indicate that faecal sampling appears more suitable for assessing baseline hormone concentrations, whilst plasma sampling may best define immediate responses to environmental events. Consequently, future studies should ensure that they select the most appropriate matrix and method of hormone measurement to answer their research questions.
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A sex-dependent excretion of FGMs exists in certain bird species, such as the European stonechat, Peregrine falcon, and Adelie penguins.
“Conversely, a sex-dependent excretion of FGMs does exist in certain bird species, such as the European stonechat (Saxicola torquata rubicola) (Goymann, 2005), the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) (Staley et al., 2007), and the Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) (Ninnes et al., 2010).”
From Effect of weather conditions and presence of visitors on adrenocortical activity in captive African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) (2017) · cites this paper as Ninnes et al., 2010
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“In addition, it should be noted that there are other confounding factors that can potentially inXuence the results of faecal hormone measurements, such as sample age and sample storage methods (reviewed by Millspaugh and Washburn 2004 ), which were standardised in this study.”
BackgroundInfluentialPlasma binding proteins as mediators of corticosteroid action in vertebrates
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Ozella, L., Anfossi, L., Di Nardo, F., & Pessani, D. (2017) · General and Comparative Endocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2015.12.002 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
- Authors
- Ninnes, C. E., Waas, J. R., Ling, N., Nakagawa, S., Banks, J. C., Bell, D. G., Bright, A., Carey, P. W., Chandler, J., Hudson, Q. J., Ingram, J. R., Lyall, K., Morgan, D. K. J., Stevens, M. I., Wallace, J., & Möstl, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Waikato (NZ)
- Flinders University (AU)
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT)
- Corresponding author
- Ninnes, Calum Edward
- Venue
- Journal of Comparative Physiology B
- Published
- 2009-07-16
- Volume
- 180
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 83-94
- ISSN
- 0174-1578 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-136X
- OpenAlex
- W2058181169
- Cited by
- 39
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 4.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Comparative Physiology B (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Commons (University of Waikato) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- Pygoscelis adeliae, plasma hormone measurement, corticosterone, testosterone, sex differences, stress hormones
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Antarctic Regions, Corticosterone, Feces, Female, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Male, Seasons, Sex Characteristics, Statistics as Topic, Stress, Physiological, Testosterone, Reproducibility of Results, Spheniscidae
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