The importance of individual heterogeneity for interpreting faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in wildlife studies

摘要

1. As a non-invasive and inexpensive method, the use of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) analysis in wildlife research is increasing. Various environmental factors have been shown to influence FGM levels, or faecal corticosteroid metabolites (FCM) levels in birds, but most studies do not account for inter-individual variance, which we hypothesized may substantially affect results.