Abstract
Noninvasive methods for the measurement of estrone conjugates (E1C), pregnanediol-3-glucronide (PdG), testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), monkey chorionic gonadotropin (mCG) and cortisol in excreta of non-human primates were described. In the series of studies, results suggest that 1) urinary and fecal steroid metabolites accurately reflected the same ovarian or testicular events as observed in plasma steroid profiles in captive Japanese macaques, time lags associated with fecal measurements were one day after appearance in urine; 2) these noninvasive methods were applicable to wild and free-ranging animals for determining reproductive status; 3) hormonal changes during menstrual cycles and pregnancy could be analyzed by measurement of FSH, CG and steroid metabolites in the excreta in captive great apes and macaques; and 4) hormone-behavior relationships of macaques in their natural habitats and social setting could be analyzed. In these studies, we confirmed an association between maternal rejection and excreted estrogen, but not excreted progesterone, for Japanese macaques. We also reported that significantly higher levels of fecal cortisol were observed in high-ranking male Japanese macaques. 5) A reliable non- instrumented enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of early pregnancy in macaques was established.
These results suggest that the noninvasive methods for monitoring characteristics of excreted hormones provide a stress-free approach to the accurate evaluation of reproductive status in primates. These methods provide the opportunities for the study of hormone-behavior interactions in not only captive but also wild and free-ranging animal species.
