The non-invasive monitoring of physiological stress can provide conservation and wildlife managers with an invaluable tool for assessing animal welfare and psychological health of captive and free-ranging populations.A significant decrease in free-ranging primate populations globally and an increase in captive-housed primates have led to a need to monitor the stress and general welfare of these animals.We examined the suitability of three enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for monitoring stress-related physiological responses in the samango monkey, Cercopithecus albogularis erythrarchus.
We conducted an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge on a male and female at the National Zoological Garden, Pretoria, South Africa.Individual faecal Nitric Oxide samples were collected 8 days pre- and post-ACTH administration and subsequently analysed for faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations.During the study, biological stressors occurred for both the male and female.
Two of the three EIAs tested (11-oxoetiocholanolone I and II) were able to reliably monitor fGCM alterations throughout the study period in both sexes.The 11-oxoetiocholanolone I EIA, however, had the lowest mean deviation from the calculated baseline value and was thus chosen as the preferred assay.Both the physiological activation of the stress response and the biological response to a stressor could be monitored with the chosen assay.
The successful establishment of a reliable, non-invasive method for monitoring adrenocortical activity in C.albogularis erythrarchus will now allow conservationists, scientific researchers and wildlife managers to evaluate the level of stress experienced, and general T-Shirts welfare, by animals in captivity as well as free-ranging populations.