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Abstract <p>Measuring cortisol concentrations in hair is a widespread method of hormonal research in natural populations. In particular, it has increasingly been used for assessing chronic physiological stress over long periods of time. This study showed for the first time the experience of using the hair of Baikal seals to examine their hormonal status. We collected hair samples from live Baikal seals captured during summer expeditions to the Ushkany Islands, Lake Baikal in 2019 and 2021. Age differences in the cortisol concentrations in hair were found: hair cortisol levels were higher among the young seals and declined with age. We suppose this may be related to different extents of nutritional stress, hunting success, and social factors on summer rookeries. There was no sex effect on cortisol in hair in young animals. We observed that the cortisol concentrations in hair were higher in young animals captured in 2019 compared to seals taken in 2021, with no differences in ice conditions between these years found.</p>

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Cortisol Concentration in Hair of the Baikal Seal (Pusa sibirica, Gmelin, 1788, Carnivora, Phocidae): The Effects of Sex, Age, and the Dynamics of Ice Destruction

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月6日

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  • P. Yu. Shibanova,
  • M. A. Solovyeva,
  • P. S. Zhuravleva,
  • D. M. Glazov,
  • V. V. Rozhnov,
  • S. V. Naidenko

摘要

Abstract

Measuring cortisol concentrations in hair is a widespread method of hormonal research in natural populations. In particular, it has increasingly been used for assessing chronic physiological stress over long periods of time. This study showed for the first time the experience of using the hair of Baikal seals to examine their hormonal status. We collected hair samples from live Baikal seals captured during summer expeditions to the Ushkany Islands, Lake Baikal in 2019 and 2021. Age differences in the cortisol concentrations in hair were found: hair cortisol levels were higher among the young seals and declined with age. We suppose this may be related to different extents of nutritional stress, hunting success, and social factors on summer rookeries. There was no sex effect on cortisol in hair in young animals. We observed that the cortisol concentrations in hair were higher in young animals captured in 2019 compared to seals taken in 2021, with no differences in ice conditions between these years found.