Application Of Urine Neutral Steroid Hormones 17¦Â-e <sub> 2 </ Sub>, P And T The Metabolic Status Of Captive Sichuan Golden Monkey (rhinopithecus Roxellana) State Assessment Of Reproductive Physiology Research

The ex situ conservation of endangerd animals is an important part of conservation of biodiversity. The Sichuan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellanae) , listed in the First Category of State Key Protected Wildlif List, is the endangered species only existed in our country. Since 1987, the Center of breeding and Saving of rare wildlife in Shaanxi has captured the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey from the field for tow times (Zhouzhi County and Taibai County). But a stable reproductive population has not established yet during the 14 years, because references relevant to reproductive study of this species is not enough to guide prctice. At present, research on the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey has focussed predominantly on ecology,ethology,taxology,behavior and anatomy. Reproductive research on the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey so far has been limited to external observation of menstruation, pregnancy and sexual behavior. However, many inherent and deep questions concerning the reproductive physiology have no answers. Endocrine monitoring would enable a more direct assessment of reproductive physiological status. The study adopted a reliable approach to nonivasive reproductive assessment by monitoring the urinary estrodiol-17β,progesterone and testosterone.1.In the study, the levels of excretion of immunoreactive urinary 17β-E2,P and T during the different periods range widely and show seasonal variation which show a high correspondence with the observation of sexual behavior reported before. The mean of values of 17β-E2 during the follicular phase in the nonreprodutive season is 8.157pg/mgCr , and only 1/72 compared with the mean :587.902pg/mgCr in the reproductive season. The low values of 17β-E2 in the nonreprodutive season possibly suggests that female Sichuan snub-nosed monkey has a nonovulation reproductive cycle. At the same time, the male monkey only produce lower quality sperm and low sexual desire due to low values (0.576-2.359ng/mgCr) of T excreted in the nonreprodutive season.2.The result of the present study furthermore demonstrate that both P and17β-E2 are excreted in a cyclic pattern, with 17β-E2 rising early follicular phase levels to a preovulatory peak followed by a significant rise in P during the luteal phase. The measurement of 17β-E2 and P in urinary provides reliable information on both follicular development and corpus luteum function in the female Sichuan snub-nosed monkey . In the study,the interval between the two peak values of urinary 17β-E2 is defined to the length of menstruation. The length of the menstruation observed in the study shows marked variation from 27 to 41 days between the nonreprodutive season and reprodutive season. In the male, the pattern of excretion of urinary T shows irregular distribution throughout a year.