JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2022, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (2): 236-240.doi: 10.12302/j.issn.1000-2006.202103039

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Cortisol content in hair of captive forest musk deer(Moschus berezovskii) and its indication

LI Dawei(), HU Defu(), ZHANG Tianxiang, GUO Xiaobing, SHI Minghui, JIN Weijiang, ZHANG Baofeng, LIU Shuqiang   

  1. College of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2021-03-25 Accepted:2021-09-01 Online:2022-03-30 Published:2022-04-08
  • Contact: HU Defu E-mail:838656186@qq.com;hudf@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

【Objective】We studied the effects of the size of the musk deer farm, enclosure space, and age factors on the physiological stress of forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) to provide a scientific basis for the feeding and management of the deer. 【Method】In this study, hair was taken from the left thigh of 142 captive male forest musk deer from 25 musk farms in Fengxian, Shaanxi, China. Enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was used to determine the cortisol content in the hair samples and the difference in the cortisol content in the hair of deer of different age groups. Additionally, the cluster analysis of the hair cortisol content of forest musk deer and a chi-square test of the distribution of the high cortisol group and the low cortisol group of forest musk deer in different feeding environments was used to explore and evaluate the physiological affecting farmed male forest musk deer.【Result】There was no significant difference in the cortisol content in the hair of male musk deer at the ages of 3-9 years. The cluster analysis of the hair cortisol content showed that the state of physiology stress in the male musk deer could be divided into two groups: low cortisol and high cortisol. The results of the chi-square test showed that there was no significant difference in the distribution of cortisol between the two groups at different scales of musk deer farms. The high cortisol group had the highest proportion in the small circle, and the low cortisol group had the highest proportion in the large circle.【Conclusion】The results showed that the cortisol content in forest musk deer hair could effectively detect the state of physiology, which could be divided into high-sensitivity and low-sensitivity groups. Feeding space significantly affected the physiological state of musk deer and affected the proportions of highly sensitive and less sensitive individuals.

Key words: forest musk deer(Moschus berezovskii), physiological stress, hair cortisol, feeding environment

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