Sheep wool cortisol as a retrospective measure of long-term HPA axis activity and its links to body mass

Domestic Animal Endocrinology
I FürtbauerA Fry

Abstract

Hair cortisol analysis has been suggested as a powerful retrospective measure of long-term hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in numerous mammal species. In contrast, research evaluating the use of wool as a marker of long-term HPA axis activity is still scarce, and wool differs from hair in a number of ways. Here, we assess repeatability and differences in wool cortisol concentrations (WCCs) across (i) the wool shaft, (ii) two body locations, and (iii) time, in 33 barren Welsh mountain ewes (Ovis aries). We also (iv) investigated effects of grazing-related changes in body mass on WCCs and (v) assessed effects of the washing procedure during sample preparation on WCCs. Cortisol concentrations were repeatable but differed significantly across the wool shaft indicating that, provided wool growth rate is known, a single sample per individual could be used as a retrospective cortisol "timeline." WCCs were significantly higher in shoulder than in back samples, and no correlation between these two body locations was found, highlighting the importance of sampling from the same body location for repeated measures. An increase in body mass during grazing corresponded with a decrease in WCCs, which was significantly negat...Continue Reading

Citations

Jul 1, 2020·Animal : an International Journal of Animal Bioscience·R M BorgesJ Bindelle
Feb 22, 2021·General and Comparative Endocrinology·J Di FrancescoS Kutz

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