Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Concentrations of four fecal steroids in wild baboons: Short-term storage conditions and consequences for data interpretation
General and Comparative Endocrinology, Volume 132, No. 2, Year 2003
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
One source of both bias and "noise" in fecal steroid analysis is temporal change in steroid concentrations resulting from duration or conditions of fecal sample storage. However, no consensus currently exists regarding correct procedures or precautions necessary for fecal sample storage, and conditions vary widely within field endocrinology literature. This study considered the effects of short-term, weeks-long, storage conditions on quantifiable fecal testosterone (fT), glucocorticoids (fGC), estrogens (fE), and progestagen (fP) metabolite concentrations in wild baboons (Papio cynocephalus). Quadruplicate subsamples of fecal samples (n=29) collected at Amboseli National Park and its environs were subjected to four different storage conditions prior to lyophilization, in order to determine the effects of storage on subsequent steroid concentrations, as assessed by 125I radioimmunoassays. As expected, the best alternative to the "initial condition" of lyophilization at three days after collection was to freeze fecal samples at -20°C for two weeks prior to lyophilization. This storage method resulted in no significant change from initial steroid concentrations for fE, fT, or fP, although fGC showed a slight but significant decline. Storage for two weeks in a charcoal refrigerator caused a mean increase in all four steroid concentrations. However, the results from this storage condition were robust in terms of practical questions asked of the data: fE and fP values still reflected pregnant versus non-pregnant states in baboon females; a fGC profile constructed by age class resembled that created from the samples from the initial condition, although slightly inflated across age classes; and there were only moderate changes in relative fT concentrations across adult males. Knowledge of the effects of storage upon each steroid analyzed within one's study is a necessary component in determining the optimal compromise for storage protocol in a particular research project. © 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Lynch, Jessica Ward
United States, Princeton
Princeton University
Khan, M. Z.
United States, Oshkosh
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Altmann, Jeanne
United States, Princeton
Princeton University
Kenya, Nairobi
National Museums of Kenya
United States, Brookfield
Brookfield Zoo
Njahira, Moses Ndotono
Kenya, Nairobi
National Museums of Kenya
Rubenstein, N.
United States, Princeton
Princeton University
Statistics
Citations: 107
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/S0016-6480(03)00093-5
Participants Gender
Female