Using an on-site laboratory for fecal steroid analysis in wild white-faced capuchins

Jacinta C Beehner; José Alfaro; Cloe Allen; Marcela E Benítez; Thore J Bergman; Margaret S Buehler; Sofia C Carrera; Emily M Chester; Tobias Deschner; Alexander Fuentes; Colleen M Gault; Irene Godoy; Katharine M Jack; Justin D Kim; Lev Kolinski; Nelle K Kulick; Teera Losch; Juan Carlos Ordoñez; Susan E Perry; Fernando Pinto; Olivia T Reilly; Elizabeth Tinsley Johnson; Michael D Wasserman

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114109

Using an on-site laboratory for fecal steroid analysis in wild white-faced capuchins

Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2022 Dec 1:329:114109. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114109. Epub 2022 Aug 22.

Authors

Jacinta C Beehner¹, José Alfaro², Cloe Allen³, Marcela E Benítez⁴, Thore J Bergman⁵, Margaret S Buehler⁶, Sofia C Carrera⁷, Emily M Chester⁸, Tobias Deschner⁹, Alexander Fuentes¹⁰, Colleen M Gault¹¹, Irene Godoy¹², Katharine M Jack¹³, Justin D Kim⁷, Lev Kolinski¹⁰, Nelle K Kulick¹³, Teera Losch⁷, Juan Carlos Ordoñez¹⁰, Susan E Perry¹⁴, Fernando Pinto¹⁰, Olivia T Reilly¹⁵, Elizabeth Tinsley Johnson¹⁶, Michael D Wasserman⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Capuchins at Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica; Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address: jbeehner@umich.edu.
² School for the Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁴ Capuchins at Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica; Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Capuchins at Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica; Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁶ Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; Santa Rosa Primate Project, Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica; Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University, Covington, LA 70433, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Capuchins at Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica.
⁸ Capuchins at Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica; Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
⁹ Institute of Cognitive Science, Comparative BioCognition, University of Osnabrück, Artilleriestrasse 34, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany.
¹⁰ Capuchins at Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica.
¹¹ Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project, Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve, Costa Rica.
¹² Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project, Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve, Costa Rica; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Animal Behavior, Bielefeld University, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany.
¹³ Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; Santa Rosa Primate Project, Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica.
¹⁴ Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project, Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve, Costa Rica; Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA; Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA.
¹⁶ Capuchins at Taboga Research Project, Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica; Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

PMID: 36007549
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114109

Abstract

Hormone laboratories located "on-site" where field studies are being conducted have a number of advantages. On-site laboratories allow hormone analyses to proceed in near-real-time, minimize logistics of sample permits/shipping, contribute to in-country capacity-building, and (our focus here) facilitate cross-site collaboration through shared methods and a shared laboratory. Here we provide proof-of-concept that an on-site hormone laboratory (the Taboga Field Laboratory, located in the Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica) can successfully run endocrine analyses in a remote location. Using fecal samples from wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator) from three Costa Rican forests, we validate the extraction and analysis of four steroid hormones (glucocorticoids, testosterone, estradiol, progesterone) across six assays (DetectX® and ISWE, all from Arbor Assays). Additionally, as the first collaboration across three long-term, wild capuchin field sites (Lomas Barbudal, Santa Rosa, Taboga) involving local Costa Rican collaborators, this laboratory can serve as a future hub for collaborative exchange.

Keywords: Androgens; Cortisol; Estradiol; Estrogens; Field laboratory; Glucocorticoids; Progesterone; Progestogens; Testosterone; Validation.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Cebus
Cebus capucinus*
Costa Rica
Feces
Laboratories
Testosterone

Substances

Testosterone