Effects of accelerometry-derived physical activity energy expenditure on urinary C-peptide levels in a wild primate (Papio ursinus)

Abstract

Animals have finite energy reserves for growth, survival, and reproduction and must maintain a stable energy balance. Measuring energy balance in the wild, however, is beset with methodological challenges. Quantification of urinary C-peptide (uCP), a proxy for insulin secretion, has enabled researchers to non-invasively estimate energy balance, and positive relationships between uCP levels and energy intake have been documented in numerous non-human primates. Comparatively few studies show that, consistent with insulin physiology, energy expenditure also alters levels of uCP. The timescale and extent of this relationship, however, remains unclear given the reliance on crude measures of activity and inferred energy expenditure. Here, for the first time, we test for effects of accelerometer-derived Vectorial Dynamic Body Acceleration (VeDBA) - a continuous measure of physical activity energy expenditure - on urinary C-peptide (uCP) levels in n = 12 wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). Applying a model selection approach, we show that VeDBA summed over short timescales (30 min to 1 h) prior to urine collection was negatively associated with uCP levels. Using the acceleration-based time individuals spent ‘non-stationary’ (i.e. locomoting) prior to urine collection as a predictor - instead of summed VeDBA - revealed similar but less clear results. Overall, the negative relationship between VeDBA and uCP levels highlights the importance of quantifying physical activity energy expenditure when using uCP measures to estimate energy balance and has potential implications for the field of energetics accelerometry.