Based On Thyroid Hormone Levels In Faeces Study On Metabolic Strategies Of The Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys(Rhinopit.hecus Roxellana)

In long-term natural selection,animals have evolved flexible metabolic strategies to cope with complex and variable environmental conditions.Understanding the metabolic strategies of wild animals can not only increase the understanding of diversity of animal adaptation strategies,but also provide technical support for the formulation of endangered wildlife conservation strategies.The golden snub-nosed monkeys(Rhinopithecus roxellana)is an endangered primate distributed in high altitude coniferous forest.There were a broad range in the temperature of habitat and seasonal variation of food.It is of great significance to understand the metabolic strategy of golden snub-nosed monkeys.However,,because of the difficulty of sampling,especially for the sampling of endangered wild animals.Therefore,the energy metabolism strategy of golden snub-nosed monkeys in natural environment is rarely studied.From from July 2017 to May 2018,we explored the energy metabolism of golden snub-nosed monkeys in Hubei Shennongjia National Nature Reserve,China.The effects of age,mating intensity,lactation and non-lactation on the energy metabolism strategy were analyzed by using T3 in the feces of adult female golden snub-nosed monkeys with the same reproductive status.For females:The results indicated that there was no significant difference in T3 value of adult female golden snub-nosed monkeys in different age groupss(P>0.05).For lactating females:There were significant differences in T3 value in feces of female golden snub-nosed monkeys in different seasons(P>0.05).The lactating females had the highest level of T3 in the preparatory period of Summer,followed by the mating period of Autnmn and gestation period of Winter,and the lowest level in the lactation period of Spring;The value of T3 in feces of lactation individuals was significantly higher than that of non-lactation individuals during the preparation period of summer(P<0.01);The value of T3 in feces of lactation individuals were higher than that of non-lactation individuals in mating period and pregnancy period,but there were no significant difference(P>0.05);The mating times of lactating females were significantly higher than non-lactating females in autumn(P<0.01).For non-lactating females:There were significant differences in T3 value in feces of non-lactating females in diifferent seasons {P>0.05).The non-lactating females had the highest level of T3 in Spring,followed by the Winter and Autumn,and the towest level in Summer.The value of T3 in feces of non-lactating females were significantly higher than that of lactating females in spring(P<0.01).This study revealed the metabolic strategy flexibility in the balance of survival and reproduction,from the point of energy metabolism,and provided a scientific basis for feeding management and careful nursing of lactating females golden snub-nosed monkeys.