Urinary C-Peptide Measurement as a Marker of Nutritional Status in Macaques
Open Access
- 30 March 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 6 (3), e18042
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0018042
Abstract
Studies of the nutritional status of wild animals are important in a wide range of research areas such as ecology, behavioural ecology and reproductive biology. However, they have so far been strongly limited by the indirect nature of the available non-invasive tools for the measurement of individual energetic status. The measurement of urinary C-peptide (UCP), which in humans and great apes shows a close link to individual nutritional status, may be a more direct, non-invasive tool for such studies in other primates as well and possibly even in non-primate mammals. Here, we test the suitability of UCPs as markers of nutritional status in non-hominid primates, investigating relationships between UCPs and body-mass-index (BMI), skinfold fatness, and plasma C-peptide levels in captive and free-ranging macaques. We also conducted a food reduction experiment, with daily monitoring of body weight and UCP levels. UCP levels showed significant positive correlations with BMI and skinfold fatness in both captive and free-ranging animals and with plasma C-peptide levels in captive ones. In the feeding experiment, UCP levels were positively correlated with changes in body mass and were significantly lower during food reduction than during re-feeding and the pre-experimental control condition. We conclude that UCPs may be used as reliable biomarkers of body condition and nutritional status in studies of free-ranging catarrhines. Our results open exciting opportunities for energetic studies on free-ranging primates and possibly also other mammals.Keywords
This publication has 44 references indexed in Scilit:
- Sex differences in survival costs of reproduction in a promiscuous primateBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2008
- Comparative Aspects of the Metabolism and Excretion of Cortisol in Three Individual Nonhuman PrimatesGeneral and Comparative Endocrinology, 2000
- Chemical Composition of Baboon Plant Foods: Implications for the Interpretation of Intra- and Interspecific Differences in DietFolia Primatologica, 1993
- Insulin Levels, Physical Activity, and Urinary Catecholamine Excretion of Obese and Non‐Obese Rhesus MonkeysObesity Research, 1993
- Seasonal weight changes in male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)American Journal of Primatology, 1989
- A nonintrusive method for determining relative body fat in free‐ranging monkeysAmerican Journal of Primatology, 1988
- Basal and 24-h C-peptide and insulin secretion rate in normal manDiabetologia, 1987
- Energetics, physiology and vertebrate ecologyTrends in Ecology & Evolution, 1986
- Testicular Size, Testosterone Level, and Body Weight in Male Macaca radiataFolia Primatologica, 1979
- Theory of use of the turnover rates of body water for measuring energy and material balanceJournal of Theoretical Biology, 1966