内蒙古赤峰地区环境因子对东北马鹿粪便皮质醇的影响

Effect of Environmental Factors on Fecal Cortisol of Northeast Red Deer in Chifeng Area of Inner Mongolia

野生动物应激水平的非损伤性评估是了解野生动物对景观条件产生生理反应的重要方法。粪便皮质醇代谢产物(faecal cortisol metabolites,FCM)水平被认为是评价动物压力的潜在生物标志物。影响濒危东北马鹿(Cervus elaphus xanthopygus)应激的环境因子可能包括道路、植被、人为干扰和海拔等,因此采用酶联免疫分析法(ELISA)分析内蒙古高格斯台罕乌拉国家级自然保护区东北马鹿种群的粪便皮质醇激素数据,利用多元线性回归模型构建东北马鹿粪便皮质醇激素与环境因子的线性关系,探索环境因子影响东北马鹿粪便皮质醇激素的变化情况。结果表明:82只不同东北马鹿个体粪便皮质醇激素水平为2.05~114.3 ng/g,平均水平为(37.56±24.25)ng/g。距道路距离、归一化植被指数(normalized difference vegetation index,NDVI)和海拔是驱动皮质醇激素水平变化的主要因子。马鹿粪便皮质醇激素水平与距道路距离、NDVI呈负相关,与海拔呈正相关。随着海拔的升高,马鹿平均粪便皮质醇水平呈上升趋势。测量粪便皮质醇激素为评估环境压力下应激源对野生动物的影响提供了一种无损伤性监测策略。了解环境因子对东北马鹿粪便皮质醇的影响,可以为制定保护区管理政策和保护策略提供理论基础。

The non-invasive assessment of stress levels in wildlife is an important method for understanding the physiological response of wildlife to landscape conditions.Fecal cortisol metabolites levels are considered as potential biomarkers for evaluating animal stress.Environmental factors including roads,vegetation,human disturbance and altitude etc were likely to affect the stress level of northeast red deer(Cervus elaphus xanthopygus) in northeast China.In this study,enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to analyze the fecal cortisol hormone concentration data of red deer population in the Gaogesitai Hanwula National Nature Reserve of Inner Mongolia.Using multiple linear regression models,the linear relationship between fecal cortisol hormone of red deer and ecological factors was constructed to explore how environmental factors affect the variation of cortisol concentration in red deer.The results showed that the fecal cortisol levels from 82 red deer individuals ranged from 2.05 to 114.3 ng/g,with an average of(37.56±24.25) ng/g.Distance to road,normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) and altitude were the main factors driving the change of cortisol levels.Cortisol levels in red deer feces were negatively correlated with distance to road and NDVI,but positively correlated with altitude.With the increasing altitude,the average cortisol levels in red deer feces increased.Measuring fecal corticosteroids provides a noninvasive monitoring approach for assessing the response of wildlife to environmental stresses.Understanding the impact of environmental factors on fecal cortisol of northeast red deer can provide a theoretical basis for management policies and conservation strategies of nature reserves.