The role of faecal glucocorticoid metabolite monitoring for welfare assessments and conservation management of wildlife

Wielebnowski, N.

Oregon Zoo, Portland, Oregon, USA, e-mail: nadja.wielebnowski@oregonzoo.org

In recent years noninvasive faecal hormone metabolite monitoring (FGM) has gained much popularity as a tool for the assessment of animal stress and welfare.  While this technique only provides a single measure of an individual’s physiological and psychological response to changes in its environment, it has nevertheless proven very useful for assessing stress responses related to animal transport, handling, exhibit changes, and several other management variables in the farm, lab, and zoo and aquarium setting. More recently FGM monitoring is also being applied to an increasing number of free-ranging species to assess the impact of a wide range of variables, such as predation, relocation, reintroduction, and various forms of human disturbance. However, the technique also has its drawbacks, and careful validation and evaluation on a case-by-case basis are necessary, before drawing conclusions based on collected data.  Due to the complexity of the stress response itself, and our still considerable limitations in understanding various aspects of chronic versus acute stress, and adaptive versus non-adaptive responses, great care needs to be taken when interpreting obtained results for management decisions. Using FGM monitoring in combination with other measures is recommended in order to evaluate the overall impact of changes in adrenal activity in a given species and study. An overview of some of the ‘pros and cons’ of FGM monitoring for welfare studies will be provided together with various examples of its successful application. In particular, several case studies that highlight the importance for integrating multiple measures, in combination with FGM, will be presented. If used judiciously, FGM monitoring can provide a valuable tool to help improve the welfare of animals in captive and wild settings by positively affecting management and conservation decisions.