Study On Sex Hormone Levels In Fecal Of Blue Fox During Different Rearing Periods

Blue fox is the fur animal raised in large numbers in China.In order to understand the changes of sex hormones in the different rearing periods of blue foxes,the non-destructive sampling method was used to collect the fecal samples of the male and female blue foxes reared in latitude 45 degrees per month from June 2015 to July 2016.The blue foxes were in the weaning and caged at the beginning of June,and bred in late March.The levels of testosterone,estradiol and progesterone in the feces of blue fox were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.After the weaning and caged,the content of testosterone in fecal of male juvenile blue fox was at a low level from June(522.59±151.06ng/g)to October(1325.49±762.39ng/g).It was significantly increased in November(3420.02±1383.48ng/g),as well as in January(12001.72±5746.86ng/g),and was at the peak in mating period in March(16330.18±8048.71ng/g).It was significantly decreased from April(6265.8±2744.85ng/g).The content of testosterone in fecal of female juvenile blue fox is at a low level from June(401.66±111.09ng/g)to October(1226.42±532.38ng/g).It was significantly increased in November(3135.74±1739.98ng/g),as well as in January(5598.56±3082.89ng/g),and was at the peak in mating period in the end of February(8673.31±4945.96ng/g).It was significantly decreased from April(1983.7±1024.27ng/g).The content of testosterone in fecal of the male fox were significantly higher than that of the female(p<0.01)from March to June and August,and was significantly higher than the female in January,September and December(p<0.05).There was no significant difference in the rest period(p>0.05).After the weaning and caged,the content of estradiol in fecal of female juvenile blue fox was at a low level from June(113.69±22.29ng/g)to January(383.97±157.9ng/g).It was significantly increased in February(586.58±199.93ng/g),and was at the peak in mating period in March(638.62±519.66ng/g).It was significantly decreased from April(333.93±172.9ng/g).The content of estradiol in fecal of male juvenile blue fox was at a low level from June(101.24±15.17ng/g)to December(137.43±16.48ng/g).It was significantly increased from January(433.13±72.3ng/g),and was at the peak in mating period in the end of February(493.95±170.43ng/g).It was significantly decreased from May(196.06±73.22ng/g).The content of estradiol in fecal of the female fox were significantly higher than that of the male(p<0.01)in June,September,November and December,and was higher than the male in March,October and July(p<0.05).There was no significant difference in the rest period(p>0.05).After the weaning and caged,the content of progesterone in fecal of female juvenile blue fox was at a low level from June(348.88±180.6ng/g)to December(418.79±132.5ng/g).It was significantly increased in January(794.6±437.35ng/g)and March(4505.77±3655.61 ng/g).It was at the peak in pregnancy period in April(9762.38±6348.62ng/g).It was significantly decreased from May(2573.5±2039.09 ng/g).After the weaning and caged,the content of testosterone in fecal of male juvenile blue fox and estradiol in fecal of the female were significantly lower than that of adult blue fox(p<0.01),there was no significant difference among the juvenile and the adult in July,November and December(p>0.05).The content of progesterone in fecal was no significant difference between female juvenile blue fox and the adult in June,July,November and December(p>0.05).There was no significant difference in fecal sex hormones of the same age and sex blue foxes in August and December of two years(p>0.05).In the ending of October,the level of testosterone in fecal of male blue fox implanted melatonin in August was significantly higher than the male not implanted melatonin(p=0.009<0.01).And the content of estradiol in fecal of female juvenile blue fox implanted melatonin in August was no significant difference with the male not implanted melatonin(p=0.803>0.05).The content of sex hormone in the feces of blue fox was compared with the length of illumination during different rearing periods,and there is a certain relationship between the changes of hormones and the duration of illumination.