- Beehner, Jacinta C;
- Alfaro, José;
- Allen, Cloe;
- Benítez, Marcela E;
- Bergman, Thore J;
- Buehler, Margaret S;
- Carrera, Sofia C;
- Chester, Emily M;
- Deschner, Tobias;
- Fuentes, Alexander;
- Gault, Colleen M;
- Godoy, Irene;
- Jack, Katharine M;
- Kim, Justin D;
- Kolinski, Lev;
- Kulick, Nelle K;
- Losch, Teera;
- Ordoñez, Juan Carlos;
- Perry, Susan E;
- Pinto, Fernando;
- Reilly, Olivia T;
- Johnson, Elizabeth Tinsley;
- Wasserman, Michael D
Hormone laboratories located "on-site" where field studies are being conducted have a number of advantages. On-site laboratories allow hormone analyses to proceed in near-real-time, minimize logistics of sample permits/shipping, contribute to in-country capacity-building, and (our focus here) facilitate cross-site collaboration through shared methods and a shared laboratory. Here we provide proof-of-concept that an on-site hormone laboratory (the Taboga Field Laboratory, located in the Taboga Forest Reserve, Costa Rica) can successfully run endocrine analyses in a remote location. Using fecal samples from wild white-faced capuchins (Cebus imitator) from three Costa Rican forests, we validate the extraction and analysis of four steroid hormones (glucocorticoids, testosterone, estradiol, progesterone) across six assays (DetectX® and ISWE, all from Arbor Assays). Additionally, as the first collaboration across three long-term, wild capuchin field sites (Lomas Barbudal, Santa Rosa, Taboga) involving local Costa Rican collaborators, this laboratory can serve as a future hub for collaborative exchange.