Social capital and physiological stress levels in free-ranging adult female rhesus macaques

Widespread evidence exists that when relatives live together, kinship plays a central role in shaping the evolution of social behaviour. Previous studies showed that female rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) recognize familiar maternal kin using vocal cues. Recognizing paternal kin might, however, be more difficult as rhesus females mate promiscuously during the possible conception period, most probably concealing paternity. Behavioural observations indicate that semi free-ranging female rhesus macaques prefer to associate with their paternal half-sisters in comparison to unrelated females within the same group, particularly when born within the same age cohort. However, the cues and mechanism/s used in paternal kin discrimination remain under debate. Here, we investigated whether female rhesus macaques use the acoustic modality to discriminate between paternal half-sisters and non-kin, and tested familiarity and phenotype matching as the underlying mechanisms. We found that test females responded more often to calls of paternal half-sisters compared with calls of unrelated females, and that this discrimination ability was independent of the level of familiarity between callers and test females, which provides, to our knowledge, the first evidence for acoustic phenotype matching. Our study strengthens the evidence that female rhesus macaques can recognize their paternal kin, and that vocalizations are used as a cue.

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Laparoscopic diagnosis of gross reproductive abnormalities in free-ranging female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Veterinary Science Development ◽

10.4081/vsd.2012.3816 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 13

Author(s):

Vijay Kumar ◽

Anshu Raj

Keyword(s):

Old Age ◽

Macaca Mulatta ◽

Ovarian Tumor ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Age Group ◽

Reproductive Disorders ◽

Female Rhesus ◽

Trapping Method ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Female Rhesus Macaques

A study was conducted between July 2010 to June 2011 in the Monkey Sterilization Centre, Gopalpur, Himachal Pradesh, India to assess the prevalence of reproductive disorders by laparoscopic examination of the genitalia of female rhesus macaques. The animals were captured from different locations in the state using a cage trapping method. A total of 720 female rhesus macaques underwent laparoscopic examination of their reproductive tracts. A total of 63 cases were found to have reproductive abnormalities. Out of these 63 cases, the most common abnormalities reported were ovarian cyst 3.05% (n=22), ovarian tumor 1.66% (n=12), uterine tumor 1.25% (n=9), uterine edema 0.97% (n=7), uterine rupture 0.83% (n=6), ectopic pregnancy 0.69% (n=5), unicornis or acornis 0.28% (n=2). The highest number of cases of uterine abnormalities was recorded in the 12-16 year old age group (33.33%), followed by 8-12 year olds (25.39%), 16-20 year olds (22.22%), then 4-8 year olds (15.87%) and 0-4 year olds (3.17%). Of the 63 animals that showed genital abnormalities, only 52 were found to be pregnant during the breeding season from November to March in the 5-20 year old age group, while 11 animals were not pregnant; a pregnancy rate of 82.53% (52 of 63) of the female rhesus macaques with reproductive abnormalities.

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Affiliation and aggression among adult female rhesus macaques: a genetic analysis of paternal cohorts

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853902760102717 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 139 (2) ◽

pp. 371-391 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Wolf Jürgen Streich ◽

Anja Widdig ◽

Fred Bercovitch ◽

Peter Nürnberg ◽

Michael Krawczak

Keyword(s):

Genetic Analysis ◽

Adult Female ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Female Rhesus ◽

Female Rhesus Macaques

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Heritability and relationship of oxytocin receptor gene variants with social behavior and central oxytocin in colony-reared adult female rhesus macaques

10.1101/813287 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Desirée De Leon ◽

Hasse Walum ◽

Kai M. McCormack ◽

Jamie L. LaPrairie ◽

Stephen G. Lindell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Behavior ◽

Adult Female ◽

Complex Traits ◽

Statistical Power ◽

Environmental Control ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Receptor Gene ◽

Human Studies ◽

Female Rhesus ◽

Female Rhesus Macaques

AbstractThe genetic contributions to sociality are an important research focus for understanding individual variation in social function and risk of social deficits in neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism). The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) and its receptor, OXTR, influence social behavior across species. In humans and animals, common variants within the OXTR gene (OXTR) have been associated with varying socio-behavioral traits. However, the reported magnitude of influence of individual variants on complex behavior has been inconsistent. Compared to human studies, non-human primate (NHP) studies in controlled environments have the potential to result in robust effects detectable in relatively small samples. Here we estimate heritability of social behavior and central OXT concentrations in 214 socially-housed adult female rhesus macaques, a species sharing high similarity with humans in genetics, physiology, brain and social complexity. We present a bioinformatically-informed approach for identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with likely biological relevance. We tested 13 common SNPs in regulatory and coding regions of OXTR for associations with behavior (pro-social, anxiety-like, and aggressive) and OXT concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We found moderate rates of heritability for both social behavior and CSF OXT concentrations. No tested SNPs showed significant associations with behaviors or CSF in this sample. Associations between OXT CSF and social behavior were not significant either. SNP effect sizes were generally comparable to those reported in human studies of complex traits. While environmental control and a socio-biological similarity with humans is an advantage of rhesus models for detecting smaller genetic effects, it is insufficient to obviate large sample sizes necessary for appropriate statistical power.

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Heterogeneity of Reproductive Aging in Free-Ranging Female Rhesus Macaques

Primate Reproductive Aging - Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology ◽

10.1159/000137680 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 62-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rodney L. Johnson ◽

Ellen Kapsalis

Keyword(s):

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Reproductive Aging ◽

Female Rhesus ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Female Rhesus Macaques

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Physiological stress hormone levels and mating behaviour are negatively correlated in male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Animal Biology ◽

10.1163/15707563-00002416 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 63 (3) ◽

pp. 331-341 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Richard McFarland ◽

Ann MacLarnon ◽

Michael Heistermann ◽

Stuart Semple

Keyword(s):

Macaca Mulatta ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Mating Behaviour ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Reproductive Competition ◽

Stress Levels ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Male Rhesus

In order to understand the factors that cause and mediate stress in social animals, many studies have examined differences in male physiological stress levels between mating and non-mating seasons, and related these differences to levels of male-male competition. Very few have explicitly tested whether variation in stress levels is related to mating behaviour itself. We provide preliminary evidence of a negative relationship between faecal levels of glucocorticoid metabolites and mounting frequency in free-ranging male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). This finding may help explain the previous observation that male rhesus macaques show no difference in their levels of faecal glucocortocoids between the breeding and non-breeding season, despite the former being associated with elevated levels of aggression. Our study highlights the importance of directly quantifying mating behaviour when investigating the potential impact of reproductive competition and seasonality on stress physiology.

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