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Cited by 1,166Animal Behavior and Welfare StudiesStress Responses and CortisolVeterinary Equine Medical Research

Hormones as indicators of stress

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Möstl, E, Palme, R·2002·Domestic Animal Endocrinology
DOI 10.1016/s0739-7240(02)00146-7
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Abstract

Animal welfare is of increasing importance and absence of chronic stress is one of its prerequisites. During stress, various endocrine responses are involved to improve the fitness of the individual. The front-line hormones to overcome stressful situations are the glucocorticoids and catecholamines. These hormones are determined as a parameter of adrenal activity and thus of disturbance. The concentration of glucocorticoids (or their metabolites) can be measured in various body fluids or excreta. Above all, fecal samples offer the advantage that they can be easily collected and this procedure is feedback free. Recently, enzyme immunoassays (EIA) have been developed and successfully tested, to enable the measurement of groups of cortisol metabolites in animal feces. The determination of these metabolites in fecal samples is a practical method to monitor glucocorticoid production.

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  • Measuring the concentration of glucocorticoids can provide insight into stress physiology and hence the welfare of animals in relation to various environmental conditions, including visitor exposure.

    “Measuring the concentration of GC can provide insight into stress physiology, and hence the welfare of animals in relation to various environmental conditions, including visitor exposure [63,64].”

    From The visitor effect on zoo animals: implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare (2019) · cites this paper as [63]

    The Conclusion (page not provided) says fecal cortisol metabolites indicate adrenocortical activity and can be useful in animal-welfare and environmental studies. The paper supports using glucocorticoid measurements to investigate stress, but it does not address visitor exposure specifically. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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  • The physiological stress response in vertebrates results in increased secretion of glucocorticoid hormones subsequent to activation of the HPA axis.

    “The physiological stress response in vertebrates results in an increased secretion of glucocorticoid hormones (GCs) subsequent to the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis (Möstl and Palme, 2002;Touma and Palme, 2005;Sheriff et al., 2011).”

    From Effect of weather conditions and presence of visitors on adrenocortical activity in captive African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) (2017) · cites this paper as Möstl and Palme, 2002

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Authors
Möstl, E., & Palme, R.
Affiliations
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (AT)
Corresponding author
Möstl, E
ORCID
Palme, R
Venue
Domestic Animal Endocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2002-07
Volume
23
Issue
1-2
Pages
67-74
ISSN
0739-7240 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/s0739-7240(02)00146-7
OpenAlex
W2068115451
Cited by
1,166
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 40 · 2025: 51 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 45 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 86 · 2020: 78 · 2019: 58 · 2018: 77 · 2017: 78 · 2016: 66 · 2015: 68 · 2014: 70 · 2013: 61 · 2012: 55
FWCI
17.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Domestic Animal Endocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • WBI Studies Repository (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Equine › Veterinary Equine Medical Research
Keywords
stress symptoms, animal welfare, glucocorticoids, cortisol metabolites, catecholamines, adrenal function, fecal sampling, enzyme immunoassay, chronic stress, endocrine response
MeSH terms
Animals, Animal Welfare, Body Fluids, Drug Stability, Feces, Glucocorticoids, Hormones, Hydrocortisone, Immunoassay, Stress, Physiological

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