Putative drivers of adrenocortical activity in captive African lesser bushbaby, Galago moholi

In seasonal breeders periods of reproductive activity, often coincide with high levels of glucocorticoids. We studied seven male and female African lesser bushbabies, Galago moholi (Smith, 1836), over two mating periods via non-invasive faecal hormone metabolite monitoring to investigate the relationship between reproductive and adrenocortical hormone activity. We used linear mixed-effect models to investigate the effect of physiological (endocrine) variables on faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations. Our results indicate faecal androgen (males) and progestagen metabolite concentrations (females) as the variables best able to explain variability in faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations. However, the models explained only a fraction (26 and 12%, respectively) of the observed variability and graphical analysis suggests a biologically relevant difference in faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations between captive and free-ranging animals during non-reproductive periods. Thus, captivity may have affected glucocorticoid output in our focal animals, potentially weakening the expected relationship between reproductive activity and faecal glucocorticoid metabolite variability. Due to the ease of faecal and observational sample collection, a large number of studies monitoring adrenocortical activity in wildlife are conducted using only captive settings, with inferences unquestioned when applied to free-ranging scenarios. Our study cautions against this practice, as particular housing or management conditions may influence the pattern of adrenocortical activity.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author