In a time of increasing environmental change caused by anthropogenic disturbance, there is a greater need to understand animal adaptations to manmade environments. In this regard, the measurement of stress‐related endocrine markers provides a useful tool to examine the impact of environmental challenges and the physiological consequences for wildlife occupying such space. The aims of the present study were to validate fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations as a measure of stress using samples from a male African clawless otter (Aonyx capensis; n = 1) and to compare fGCM concentrations of otters occurring in a transformed and in 2 natural areas in South Africa. From the 5 different enzyme‐immunoassays (EIA) tested, a cortisol and oxoetiocholanolone (measuring 11,17 dioxoandrostanes) EIA revealed the highest response (74% and 48% increase, respectively) 30 and 24 hours after a stress event (translocation of a captive individual as part of its rehabilitation prior to release), respectively. For both EIAs, fGCM concentrations were comparable for samples collected up to 3 h post‐defecation. Using the cortisol EIA for subsequent analyses, fGCM concentrations of animals from the transformed area (n = 20; mean [± SD]: 0.468 [± 0.539] µg/g dry weight [DW]) were significantly higher (P = 0.013) than those from otters in the natural areas (n = 17; 0.242 [± 0.226] µg/g DW). These preliminary results suggest that African clawless otters may have increased adrenocortical activity that could be due to conditions linked to living in a transformed environment.

中文翻译：

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使用粪便糖皮质激素代谢物浓度作为衡量压力的方法，监测土地转化对非洲无爪水獭（Aonyx capensis）的影响。

在由人为干扰引起的环境变化日益加剧的时代，更加需要了解动物对人为环境的适应性。在这方面，与压力有关的内分泌标记物的测量提供了一个有用的工具，可用于检查环境挑战的影响以及野生生物占据此类空间的生理后果。本研究的目的是使用来自非洲非洲无爪水獭（Aonyx capensis ; n的样本）验证粪便糖皮质激素代谢物（fGCM）浓度作为衡量压力的方法。= 1），并比较南非一个转变地区和2个自然地区中水獭的fGCM浓度。在5种不同的酶免疫测定法（EIA）中，皮质醇和氧代胆甾醇（测量11,17种二氧杂雄烷）的EIA显示，应激事件后30小时和24小时反应最高（分别增加74％和48％）。囚犯，作为释放前康复的一部分）。对于两种EIA，粪便后3小时内收集的样品的fGCM浓度均相当。使用皮质醇EIA进行后续分析，转化地区的动物fGCM浓度（n = 20；平均值[±SD]：0.468 [±0.539] µg / g干重[DW]）显着更高（P= 0.013），高于自然区域的水獭（n = 17； 0.242 [±0.226] µg / g DW）。这些初步结果表明，非洲无爪水獭可能会增加肾上腺皮质激素的活动，这可能是由于生活在变化的环境中而造成的。