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- Title
What Cortisol Can Tell us About the Costs of Sociality and Reproduction Among Free-Ranging Rhesus Macaque Females on Cayo Santiago.
- Authors
Maestripieri, Dario; Georgiev, Alexander V.
- Abstract
Research with the rhesus macaque population on Cayo Santiago can provide a unique perspective on the costs of sociality and reproduction in primates. Because theCayomacaques live in unusually large groups and in a predator-free environment, in which their artificial food source lacks seasonal variation in abundance or quality, these monkeys constitute a semi-experimental study of the costs and benefits of group living. Here we reviewseveral long- and short-termstudies that have focused on female life history and stress physiology. Long-termdemographic data have shown that rhesusmacaque females ofmiddleand low-ranking matrilines have lower adult survival probabilities than females of high-ranking matrilines. Costs of reproductive effort are also evident: adult females were more likely to die during the birth than during the mating season and they experienced higher cortisol levels when lactating. Lowerranking females, in particular, experienced greater relative increase in cortisol production during lactation, in comparison to middle- and high-ranking females. Older high-ranking females had lower plasma cortisol levels than younger ones but cortisol levels were similarly high among young and old middle- and low-ranking females. Higher plasma cortisol levels and/or fecal glucocorticoid concentrations are associated with higher plasma concentrations of some proinflammatory cytokines. High cortisol, in turn, may be associated with chronic inflammation, and perhaps also with immunosuppression. In sum, the studies reviewed here provide multiple lines of evidence that sociality and reproductive effort impose measurable costs onfemale rhesusmacaques. In line with socio-ecological theory, femaledominance rank consistently emerges as an important modulator of variation in female life histories and physiology. The Cayo Santiago macaques are therefore a valuablemodel for elucidating themechanisms bywhich withingroup competition and reproduction impact health and survival in nonhuman primates and in humans.
- Subjects
PUERTO Rico; HYDROCORTISONE; RHESUS monkeys; PRIMATE reproduction; EFFECT of stress on animals; ANIMAL sexual behavior; COMPETITION (Biology); ISLANDS; MAMMALS
- Publication
American Journal of Primatology, 2016, Vol 78, Issue 1, p92
- ISSN
0275-2565
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/ajp.22368