title: The use of noninvasive and minimally invasive methods in endocrinology for threatened mammalian species conservation.
abstract: Endocrinology is an indispensable tool in threatened species research. The study of endocrinology in threatened species not only advances knowledge of endocrine mechanism but also contributes to conservation efforts of studied species. To this end, endocrinology has been traditionally used to understand reproductive and adrenocortical endocrine axes by quantifying excreted steroid metabolites. From these studies a large body of knowledge was created that contributed to the field of endocrinology, aided conservation efforts, and created a template by which to validate and conduct this research for other species. In this regard noninvasive hormone monitoring has become a favored approach to study the basic endocrinology of wildlife species. Due to the increased understanding of endocrine physiology of threatened species, breeding rates of captive population have improved to levels allowing for reintroduction of species to restored natural ecosystems. Although these approaches are still employed, advances in biochemical, molecular, and genomic technologies are providing inroads to describe lesser known endocrine activity in threatened species. These new avenues of research will allow for growth of the field with greater depth and breadth. However, for all approaches to endocrinology, limitations on resources and access to animals will require innovation of current methodologies to permit broad application for use in threatened species research.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA 91768, United States. Electronic address: dkersey@westernu.edu.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Kersey
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproduction Biology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: dehnhard@izw-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehnhard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000502:physiology; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D056727:Endangered Species; D004704:Endocrinology / Q000379:methods*; D005243:Feces; D006197:Hair; D008322:Mammals; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D012463:Saliva; D014556:Urine
keywords: Captive breeding; Noninvasive endocrinology; Reproduction; Threatened species; Validation