Data for: Using faecal cortisol metabolites to assess adrenocortical activity in wild-living Alpine marmot Marmota marmota: A biological validation experiment

Faecal cortisol/corticosterone metabolites (FCMs) have become increasingly popular as an easy-to-sample, non-invasive and feedback-free alternative to assess glucocorticoid (GC) levels, key components of the neuroendocrine stress response and other physiological processes. While FCMs can be a powerful aid, for instance, for gaining insights into ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as to assess animal welfare or impacts of anthropogenic stressors on wildlife populations, this method comes with specific challenges. Because GCs are heavily metabolized before excretion, it is critical to validate the enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) used to measure FCMs. Additionally, because species may differ in metabolite profiles, assay validation must be performed separately for each focal species. Despite this, the use of unvalidated assays remains widespread. We performed a biological validation experiment to test a set of EIAs to measure FCMs and adrenocortical activity in free-living Alpine ma..., See Publication: Zenth et al., 2024 In Ecology and Evolution: Using faecal cortisol metabolites to assess adrenocortical activity in wild-living Alpine marmot Marmota marmota: A biological validation experiment, , # Data for: Using faecal cortisol metabolites to assess adrenocortical activity in wild-living Alpine marmot Marmota marmota: A biological validation experiment [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3r2280gsc](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3r2280gsc) ## Description of the data and file structure Data used for the Analysis for the article “Using faecal cortisol metabolites to assess adrenocortical activity in wild-living Alpine marmot *Marmota marmota*: A biological validation experiment” published in Ecology and Evolution (2024). **Principal Investigator:** Friederike Zenth, [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]) ### Files and variables #### File: FMC\_marmot\_validation\_simplified.csv **Description:** Data used for the Analysis for the article “Using faecal cortisol metabolites to assess adrenocortical activity in wild-living Alpine marmot *Marmota marmota*: A biological validation experiment” published in Ecology and Evolution (2...粪便皮质醇/皮质酮代谢物（Faecal cortisol/corticosterone metabolites, FCMs）作为一种易于采集、非侵入且无需动物主动配合的替代方法，用于评估糖皮质激素（glucocorticoid, GC）水平，如今已愈发受到青睐——糖皮质激素是神经内分泌应激反应及其他生理过程的关键组分。尽管粪便皮质醇/皮质酮代谢物是一项极具价值的辅助手段，例如可用于深入解析生态与进化过程、评估动物福利，或是探究人为胁迫因子对野生种群的影响，但该方法也存在特定的挑战。由于糖皮质激素在排泄前会被大量代谢，因此对用于检测粪便皮质醇/皮质酮代谢物的酶免疫测定（enzyme immunoassays, EIAs）进行验证至关重要。此外，由于不同物种的代谢物谱存在差异，因此必须针对每个目标研究物种单独开展测定验证工作。尽管如此，未经验证的测定方法仍被广泛使用。本研究开展了一项生物学验证实验，以测试一组用于检测野生自由生活阿尔卑斯旱獭（*Marmota marmota*）粪便皮质醇/皮质酮代谢物与肾上腺皮质活性的酶免疫测定方法。详见文献：Zenth等，2024年，发表于《Ecology and Evolution》：《利用粪便皮质醇代谢物评估野生阿尔卑斯旱獭（*Marmota marmota*）的肾上腺皮质活性：一项生物学验证实验》。 # 数据集对应文献：《利用粪便皮质醇代谢物评估野生阿尔卑斯旱獭（*Marmota marmota*）的肾上腺皮质活性：一项生物学验证实验》 DOI：10.5061/dryad.3r2280gsc ## 数据与文件结构说明 本数据集为发表于《Ecology and Evolution》（2024年）的论文《利用粪便皮质醇代谢物评估野生阿尔卑斯旱獭（*Marmota marmota*）的肾上腺皮质活性：一项生物学验证实验》的分析所用数据。 **项目负责人：** Friederike Zenth，[e-mail] ### 文件与变量说明 #### 文件：FMC_marmot_validation_simplified.csv **描述：** 本文件为发表于《Ecology and Evolution》的上述论文的分析所用数据。