{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,5]],"date-time":"2025-10-05T12:28:50Z","timestamp":1759667330526,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1745366400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":112,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100006975","name":"Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100006975","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Animal Models for the Social Dimensions of Health and Aging Research Network","award":["NIH R24AG065172"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIH R24AG065172"]}]},{"name":"National Institute of Health","award":["K01AG072615"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["K01AG072615"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Noninvasive faecal hormone analyses can provide valuable information on the physiological state of wild animals and how they respond to ecological changes or anthropogenic disturbances. However, preservation techniques to prevent hormone alteration can be problematic, and not all are field friendly. We compared five processing methodologies to preserve samples for faecal glucocorticoid, progestagen and thyroid hormone metabolites. Samples were collected from adult zoo Africa savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) (one male, four females) immediately after defecation. Subsamples were then subjected to five preservation methods: lyophilisation (LYO) (considered the gold standard), dehydration, solid-phase extraction (SPE) and two ethanol extraction methods\u2014with and without being immediately dried down. Faecal glucocorticoid, progestagen and thyroid hormone metabolites were quantified by validated enzyme immunoassays. After 7\u00a0days at room temperature (to emulate shipping conditions), faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations were lower for all methods compared to LYO. For thyroid hormone metabolite concentrations, the dehydration process resulted in higher concentrations compared to LYO, whereas with SPE, concentrations were lower. For faecal progestagen metabolite concentrations, there were no discernible differences across methods. Based on these results, we recommend ethanol extraction followed by immediate sample desiccation, a method that combines technical simplicity with the advantage of ambient temperature sample storage and transportation. Nevertheless, each investigator should consider the best method for the research question, field conditions, budget, equipment accessibility and shipping requirements, especially as results can vary by species and assay used. With growing interest in assessing animal welfare, validating field methods for noninvasive hormone monitoring is essential.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/conphys\/coaf026","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T06:48:13Z","timestamp":1745390893000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comparison of methods for faecal hormone preservation and analysis in African savanna elephants under field conditions"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Daniella E","family":"Chusyd","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Indiana University , 2719 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47408 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"Chester","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinarian Medicine, Auburn University , 1130 Wire Rd., Auburn, AL 36849 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tessa","family":"Steiniche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Indiana University , 2719 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47408 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stephanie","family":"Dickinson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University , 1025 E. 7th St., Bloomington, IN 47405 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bailey","family":"Ortyl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University , 1025 E. 7th St., Bloomington, IN 47405 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Steve","family":"Paris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute , 1500 Remount Rd., Front Royal, VA 22630 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicole","family":"Boisseau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute , 1500 Remount Rd., Front Royal, VA 22630 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Wasserman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anthropology, Indiana University , 701 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington, IN 47405 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Janine L","family":"Brown","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute , 1500 Remount Rd., Front Royal, VA 22630 ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025050807212602200_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.2354","article-title":"Continent-wide survey reveals massive decline in African savannah elephants","volume":"4","author":"Chase","year":"2016","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"2025050807212602200_ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.2981\/wlb.00469","article-title":"Faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations and their alteration post-defaecation in African wild dogs Lycaon pictus from South 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