The Study Of Fecal Triiodothyronine And Influencing Factors In Forest Musk Deer

Forest musk deer is an endangered medicinal animal, and the breeding programs of forest musk deer began in the 1950s, which are national ex situ protection strategy, and aim to provide sustainable musk resources and provenances for future reintroduction. However, the captive population has been plagued by unstable health condition and high incidence of diseases for a long time, studies on physiological characteristics are extremely limited, the major constraints for which are the small captive population size and difficult sampling. Triiodothyronine is the dominant one of thyroid hormones, which are important components of a large complex network which need to response to a variety of environmental and physiological stimulation, which can reflect the metabolic physiology and physical condition of animals, but there are few studies regarding forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) and studies on physiological characteristics need to be carried out urgently. The present study focused on investigating the level of thyroid hormone in captive forest musk deer and its correlation with lactation, gender, age and region. In July and August of 2014, fresh faecal samples were collected from Miyaluo farm in Shaanxi province and Huoshaodian farm in Sichuan province, and measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to figure out the levels and dynamics of faecal triiodothyronine concentrations.For females:the lactating females was observed a higher concentration of triiodothyronine than non-lactating females in both breeding centers, but the differences were not significant (P>0.05). The levels of triiodothyronine in Mi center was investigated higher than Huo center, but the differences were not significant for all four age groups (P>0.05). The significant differences were indicated among different age groups (P<0.05), while triiodothyronine concentrations were changing with age, which were gradually rising from 3 to 5 years old, but decreasing after 5 years old. The individuals of each age group can be divided into three groups in accordance with the triiodothyronine concentrations, which reflects the different metabolic physiology levels of captive female forest musk deer.For males:The results indicated that there were significant differences in triiodothyronine concentrations between Huoshaodian farm and Miyaluo farm (P<0.05), a higher level was observed in Huo center. Nevertheless, triiodothyronine concentrations were not changing with age, and no significant differences were investigated among different age groups (P>0.05). The individuals of each breeding center can be divided into three groups in accordance with the triiodothyronine concentrations, which reflects the different metabolic physiology levels of captive female forest musk deer.This study revealed the physiological characteristics and its influencing factors from the point of energy metabolism, and provided a scientific basis for feeding management and provenances breeding of captive forest musk deer.