Assessment of urofecal metabolites of steroid hormones in golden conure (Guaruba guarouba) inside and outside the breeding season

• Grant number: 12/12650-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Alcindo de Barros Vaz Guimarâes
• Grantee: Marcelo Alcindo de Barros Vaz Guimarâes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The maintenance of viable populations of wild animals requires the conservation of their habitat, as well as knowledge of behavioral and physiological aspects of each species. Currently, there are a total of 130 known species of birds considered extinct in the wild, and only four of these can still be found in captivity. Among these species, the proportion of parrots is superior to any other family of large birds. The knowledge of endocrine and reproductive characteristics of any kind is extremely important so that we can properly interfere in the management and even apply biotechniques in order to increase the reproductive performance of endangered species. The endocrine and reproductive study using the extraction and quantification of urofecal metabolites of steroids has been proposed as an extremely useful tool because it is noninvasive and allow longitudinal studies with large number of samples without producing stress. Some studies have shown that determination of hormones via urofecal analysis is viable in birds. This project aims to describe the profile of urofecal steroids metabolites concentrations (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and corticosterone) inside and outside the breeding season in the endangered species golden conure (Guaruba guarouba), test a oviposition stimulation protocol in this species, with the use of GnRH analogue, and validate physiologically or biologically the tests for determination of these metabolites. (AU)