Hormone Metabolites Found in Feces Give Researchers New Insight into Whale Stress
Published:07 Jan.2021 Source:Oregon State University
Fecal samples are an effective, non-invasive tool for monitoring gray whale reproduction, stress and other physiological responses, a new study from Oregon State University shows.
Researchers from OSU's Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Laboratory collected 158 fecal samples from Eastern North Pacific gray whales off the coast of Oregon between 2016 and 2018 and used the samples to assess endocrine levels and establish hormone baselines for stress and reproduction in the animals.