WINGFIELD, J.C.; WALKER, B.; University of Washington; University of Washington: Field Endocrinology and Conservation Biology

Field endocrinology techniques allow the collection of samples (such as blood, urine, fecal, tissue etc.) from free-living animals for analysis of hormones, receptors, enzymes etc. These data reveal mechanisms by which individuals respond to environmental challenges, breed, migrate and regulate all aspects of their life cycles. Field endocrinology techniques can also be used to address many issues in conservation biology. We will briefly review past and current ways in which endocrine methods have been used to monitor threatened species, identify potential stressors and record responses to environmental disturbance. We will then focus on one important aspect of conservation: how free-living populations respond to human disturbance, particularly in relation to ecotourism. Breeding Magellanic penguins, Spheniscus magellanicus, appear to habituate well to a tourist trail through their breeding territories. Baseline levels of corticosterone return to normal after exposure of na�ve birds to humans. However, penguin chicks appear to show a heightened adrenocortical response to handling stress in territories exposed to tourists compared with chicks from territories isolated from human intrusions. Given that developmental exposure to stress can have profound influences on how individuals cope with stress as adults, this potential effect of tourists on chicks could have long term consequences for the population. This field endocrine approach was able to identify a potential problem that would not have been easily detectable using non-invasive behavioral approaches.