Study On Fecal Cortisol And Immunoglobulin A Level Of Blue Fox(Alopex Lagopus)

In this study,from June 2016 to July 2017,non-invasive sampling method was used to collect feces samples from different biological stages of the blue fox.Radioimmunoassay was used to measure the levels of cortisol in blue fox feces and the content of IgA in blue fox feces was measured by enzyme immunoassays.Combining the changes of cortisol hormones and IgA levels in blue foxes,the immune and stress physiology of blue foxes were studied.The results are as follows:1?The content of cortisol hormone in feces of blue foxes was the highest in the finishing period.After the finishing period,the levels of cortisol hormone content in the feces of male blue foxes decreased very significantly(P=0.000?0.01);the levels of cortisol hormone content in the feces of female blue foxes decreased significantly after the finishing period(P=0.037?0.05).After that,although cortisol hormone levels in the blue foxes of other periods fluctuated but did not change significantly(P?0.05),they remained at a certain level.2?There was no significant difference in cortisol hormone levels of male and female blue fox feces in the same biology period.3?The levels of IgA in male and female blue fox feces rose from finishing period to the pre-breeding period,and the IgA levels in the feces in the breeding period were very significantly decreased(P male =0.001?0.01,P female =0.000?0.01).The levels of IgA in the feces of female blue foxes increased significantly(P=0.000?0.01)after the breeding period,and the IgA level of the feces showed a increasing trend from the period of pregnancy to lactation and a downward trend after lactation period.The levels of IgA in the feces of the male blue fox increased significantly from the breeding period to the anestrous period(P=0.014?0.05),and the levels of IgA in the feces decreased very significantly after anestrous period(P=0.000?0.01).4?The concentration of cortisol and IgA in the blue fox feces showed a correlation under certain conditions,showing mutual promotion or inhibition status.5?Adding 0.05%lactobacillus acidophilus to the diet for blue fox(60 days old),then feeding them for 50 days,we measured the concentrations of cortisol and IgA in the feces.The level of cortisol in the experimental group adding 0.05%lactobacillus acidophilus was significantly lower than that of the control group(P male =0.015?0.05,P female =0.005?0.01),and the IgA level in the blue fox feces of the experimental group adding 0.05%lactobacillus acidophilus in the diet was significantly lower than that of the control group(P male=0.000?0.01,P female =0.003?0.01).6?Adding 0.05%Lactobacillus acidophilus to the diet for blue fox(60 days old),then feeding them for 50 days,we measured the concentrations of cortisol and IgA in its fecal.The cortisol level in the blue fox feces of the experimental group containing 0.05%Lactobacillus acidophilus was significantly lower than that of the control group(PMale=0.015?0.05,PFemale-0.005?0.01);The IgA level in the blue fox feces of the experimental group containing 0.05%Lactobacillus acidophilus was very significantly lower than that of the control group(PMale=0.000?0.O1,PFemale=0.003?0.O1).To sum up,cortisol and IgA concentrations in blue fox feces were measured to reflect the changes of cortisol and IgA concentration in different biological periods of blue fox.