Concentrations of four faecal steroid metabolites in scats of Weddell seals, Long Fjord, Vestfold Hills

This dataset contains steroid metabolite values found in faeces of Weddell seals in Long Fjord, Vestfold Hills. These data were collected from June to December of 2021.Faecal hormone monitoring provides a non-invasive tool to investigate animal physiology. It can offer valuable insights about the reproductive status and condition of an animal. Steroid hormones are the main type of hormone excreted in faeces, and there are 4 different families of steroids that can be monitored. Details about these steroid groups, as well as information about the abbreviations and assays used in this study, are provided in the report available in the dataset download.The goal of this project was to conduct an initial analysis of faecal hormone metabolites in wild Weddell seals.The specific aims were:1) Biochemically validate assays for monitoring faecal hormones (i.e., parallelism)2) To the extent possible with the meta-data provided, attempt to biologically validate the assays3) Describe seasonal changes in hormone concentrations4) Examine sex differFaecal samples were collected opportunistically from Weddell seals in Antarctica from June – December 2021. Samples were extracted in Tasmania and extracts were shipped to La Trobe for analysis. Initial biochemical validation was conducted for each of the 4 steroid groups. For glucocorticoids, we tested 2 assays that measure different groups of glucocorticoid metabolites and selected the best one for subsequent analysis. Following the initial validation, all samples were analysed on all 4 assays. Graphical analysis was used to assess biological validation and examine patterns in the data.