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Roatti V, Cowlishaw G, Huchard E, Carter A. Social network inheritance and differentiation in wild baboons. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230219. [PMID: 37234491 PMCID: PMC10206475 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Immatures' social development may be fundamental to understand important biological processes, such as social information transmission through groups, that can vary with age and sex. Our aim was to determine how social networks change with age and differ between sexes in wild immature baboons, group-living primates that readily learn socially. Our results show that immature baboons inherited their mothers' networks and differentiated from them as they aged, increasing their association with partners of similar age and the same sex. Males were less bonded to their matriline and became more peripheral with age compared to females. Our results may pave the way to further studies testing a new hypothetical framework: in female-philopatric societies, social information transmission may be constrained at the matrilineal level by age- and sex-driven social clustering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittoria Roatti
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Guy Cowlishaw
- Zoological Society of London, Institute of Zoology, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Elise Huchard
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier, CNRS, University of Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Alecia Carter
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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Wooddell LJ, Kaburu SSK, Dettmer AM. Dominance rank predicts social network position across developmental stages in rhesus monkeys. Am J Primatol 2019; 82:e23024. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J. Wooddell
- Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health Poolesville Maryland
- Neuroscience and Behavior, California National Primate Research Center University of California Davis California
| | - Stefano S. K. Kaburu
- Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health Poolesville Maryland
- Department of Biomedical Science & Physiology, Faculty of Science and Engineering University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton UK
| | - Amanda M. Dettmer
- Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health Poolesville Maryland
- Yale Child Study Center Yale School of Medicine New Haven Connecticut
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4
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Piza-Roca C, Strickland K, Kent N, Frere CH. Presence of kin-biased social associations in a lizard with no parental care: the eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii). Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Numerous studies have observed kin-biased social associations in a variety of species. Many of these studies have focused on species exhibiting parental care, which may facilitate the transmission of the social environment from parents to offspring. This becomes problematic when disentangling whether kin-biased associations are driven by kin recognition, or are a product of transmission of the social environment during ontogeny, or a combination of both. Studying kin-biased associations in systems that lack parental care may aid in addressing this issue. Furthermore, when studying kin-biased social associations, it is important to differentiate whether these originate from preferential choice or occur randomly as a result of habitat use or limited dispersal. Here, we combined high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism data with a long-term behavioral data set of a reptile with no parental care to demonstrate that eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii) bias their nonrandom social associations toward their kin. In particular, we found that although the overall social network was not linked to genetic relatedness, individuals associated with kin more than expected given availability in space and also biased social preferences toward kin. This result opens important opportunities for the study of kinship-driven associations without the confounding effect of vertical transmission of social environments. Furthermore, we present a robust multiple-step approach for determining whether kin-biased social associations are a result of active social decisions or random encounters resulting from habitat use and dispersal patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carme Piza-Roca
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia
| | - Kasha Strickland
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia
| | - Nicola Kent
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia
| | - Celine H Frere
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, Australia
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Amici F, Kulik L, Langos D, Widdig A. Growing into adulthood—a review on sex differences in the development of sociality across macaques. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2623-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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6
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Alberts SC, Gaillard J. Social influences on survival and reproduction: Insights from a long-term study of wild baboons. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:47-66. [PMID: 30033518 PMCID: PMC6340732 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
For social species, the environment has two components: physical and social. The social environment modifies the individual's interaction with the physical environment, and the physical environment may in turn impact individuals' social relationships. This interplay can generate considerable variation among individuals in survival and reproduction. Here, I synthesize more than four decades of research on the baboons of the Amboseli basin in southern Kenya to illustrate how social and physical environments interact to affect reproduction and survival. For immature baboons, social behaviour can both mitigate and exacerbate the challenge of survival. Only c. 50% of live-born females and c. 44% of live-born males reach the median age of first reproduction. Variation in pre-adult survival, growth and development is associated with multiple aspects of the social environment. For instance, conspecifics provide direct care and are a major source of social knowledge about food and the environment, but conspecifics can also represent a direct threat to survival through infanticide. In adulthood, both competition (within and between social groups) and cooperative affiliation (i.e. collective action and/or the exchange of social resources such as grooming) are prominent features of baboon social life and have important consequences for reproduction and survival. For instance, adult females with higher social dominance ranks have accelerated reproduction, and adult females that engage in more frequent affiliative social interactions have higher survival throughout adulthood. The early life environment also has important consequences for adult reproduction and survival, as in a number of other bird and mammal species. In seasonal breeders, early life effects often apply to entire cohorts; in contrast, in nonseasonal and highly social species such as baboons, early life effects are more individual-specific, stemming from considerable variation not only in the early physical environment (even if they are born in the same year) but also in the particulars of their social environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan C. Alberts
- Departments of Biology and Evolutionary AnthropologyDuke UniversityDurhamNorth Carolina
- Institute of Primate ResearchNational Museums of KenyaKarenNairobiKenya
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Cords M, Minich T, Roberts SJ, Sleator C. Evidence for paternal kin bias in the social affiliation of adult female blue monkeys. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22761. [PMID: 29717496 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Revised: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 04/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
If animals increase inclusive fitness by cooperating with relatives, nepotism should involve maternal and paternal kin equally, all else being equal. Evidence of a behavioral bias toward paternal half-siblings in primates is both limited and mixed, with most positive reports from papionins. To expand knowledge of paternal kin recognition, particularly in cercopithecine monkeys, we examined evidence for paternal kin bias in wild blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), a species living mostly in one-male groups. Seasonal breeding and the amount of male reproductive skew in blue monkeys suggests that opportunities to distinguish paternal kin are plentiful, and their social system would make such discrimination beneficial. We compared spatial association and social contact (grooming and contact-sitting) of 20 adult females with at least one paternal half-sibling and at least one non-relative that were present at the same time. We used two data sets, one in which social partners were other parous females, the other in which they were juveniles. Data came from a 7-year period. When interacting with other adult females, subjects groomed and sat in contact with paternal half-siblings significantly more than with known non-kin, and there was a similar trend for spatial association. We detected no paternal kin bias in interactions with juvenile partners. Kin-biased affiliative contact with adult female partners did not appear to be based on age proximity, measured by birth cohort. The study species' social system suggests phenotype matching as the most likely alternative mechanism, though we could not test it directly. Across both behaviors, there was no significant relationship between the number of matrilineal kin a subject had and the degree to which she preferred paternal half-siblings over non-kin as affiliative partners. These findings contribute to a comparative understanding of paternal kin recognition in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Cords
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York
| | - Taylor Minich
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Su-Jen Roberts
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York.,Department of Education, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York
| | - Clio Sleator
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California
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Weiß BM, Kücklich M, Thomsen R, Henkel S, Jänig S, Kulik L, Birkemeyer C, Widdig A. Chemical composition of axillary odorants reflects social and individual attributes in rhesus macaques. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018; 72:65. [PMID: 29606788 PMCID: PMC5871651 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2479-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Revised: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Abstract Scents play an important role in the life of most terrestrial mammals and may transmit valuable information about conspecifics. Olfaction was long considered of low importance in Old World monkeys due to their relative reduction of olfactory structures and low incidence of scent-marking behavior but has been increasingly recognized for mediating social relationships in recent years. Yet, studies investigating the composition of their chemical cues remain scarce. In the present study, we analyzed the potential information content of chemicals present on the skin of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). We collected axillary secretions from 60 animals of the semifree-ranging population on Cayo Santiago (Puerto Rico, USA) with precleaned cotton swabs from which the secretions were subsequently extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Rhesus macaque axillary odorants varied in their overall similarity and composition. This variation was attributable to differences in sex, group membership, and kinship and further appeared to reflect age and rank in parts of our sample. The compounds most strongly associated with this variation primarily comprised larger molecular weight aldehydes and steroids. Such compounds are considered to be perceivable by the primate olfactory system through close-range interactions or through breakdown into smaller molecules by bacterial fermentation. Overall, our results provide additional evidence that odors of Old World monkeys reflect a wealth of potential information about their carrier, which provides the basis for chemical communication via body odors; however, its use by conspecifics needs to be confirmed in bioassays. Significance statement One prerequisite for olfactory communication is the presence of systematic variation in animal odors that is related to attributes such as age, sex, or kinship. The composition of odors has been examined in numerous mammals but, with the exception of humans, remains poorly understood in Old World monkeys and apes, taxonomic groups in which most species do not show scent-marking behavior. In the present study, we show that the composition of axillary secretions of an Old World monkey, the rhesus macaque, reflects sex, group membership, relatedness, and possibly also age and rank. This variation thus provides a basis for olfactory communication in Old World monkeys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte M. Weiß
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marlen Kücklich
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ruth Thomsen
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT UK
| | - Stefanie Henkel
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susann Jänig
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lars Kulik
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Claudia Birkemeyer
- Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Mass Spectrometry Research Group, University of Leipzig, Linnéstrasse 3, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anja Widdig
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5E, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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9
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Does behavioral flexibility contribute to successful play among juvenile rhesus macaques? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2377-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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10
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Lynch EC, Di Fiore A, Lynch RF, Palombit RA. Fathers enhance social bonds among paternal half-siblings in immature olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2336-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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11
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Städele V, Vigilant L. Strategies for determining kinship in wild populations using genetic data. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:6107-20. [PMID: 27648229 PMCID: PMC5016635 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Revised: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 07/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of kin relationships between members of wild animal populations has broad application in ecology and evolution research by allowing the investigation of dispersal dynamics, mating systems, inbreeding avoidance, kin recognition, and kin selection as well as aiding the management of endangered populations. However, the assessment of kinship among members of wild animal populations is difficult in the absence of detailed multigenerational pedigrees. Here, we first review the distinction between genetic relatedness and kinship derived from pedigrees and how this makes the identification of kin using genetic data inherently challenging. We then describe useful approaches to kinship classification, such as parentage analysis and sibship reconstruction, and explain how the combined use of marker systems with biparental and uniparental inheritance, demographic information, likelihood analyses, relatedness coefficients, and estimation of misclassification rates can yield reliable classifications of kinship in groups with complex kin structures. We outline alternative approaches for cases in which explicit knowledge of dyadic kinship is not necessary, but indirect inferences about kinship on a group- or population-wide scale suffice, such as whether more highly related dyads are in closer spatial proximity. Although analysis of highly variable microsatellite loci is still the dominant approach for studies on wild populations, we describe how the long-awaited use of large-scale single-nucleotide polymorphism and sequencing data derived from noninvasive low-quality samples may eventually lead to highly accurate assessments of varying degrees of kinship in wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Städele
- Department of PrimatologyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyDeutscher Platz 6D‐04103LeipzigGermany
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Department of PrimatologyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyDeutscher Platz 6D‐04103LeipzigGermany
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12
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Langos D, Kulik L, Ruiz-Lambides A, Widdig A. Does Male Care, Provided to Immature Individuals, Influence Immature Fitness in Rhesus Macaques? PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137841. [PMID: 26367536 PMCID: PMC4569174 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2014] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Among many mammals, maternal care strongly impacts infant survival; however, less is known about whether adult males also affect infant fitness. Paternal care is expected when providing care enhances offspring survival and reproduction, which likewise increases fathers' fitness. Males might also care for unrelated immature individuals to increase their mating probability with the immature individuals' mothers. Studies in multimale primate groups showed that sires enhance food access for offspring and provide protection in conflicts. Furthermore, fathers' presence during infancy has been suggested to accelerate offspring sexual maturation. However, no study has yet directly linked the degree of father-offspring bonds to offspring fitness in primates. We previously reported father-offspring affiliation in rhesus macaques, pronounced during early infancy and independent of mothers' presence. The present study aims at investigating whether affiliation with fathers or other males affects proxies of immature fitness (body mass gain, body fat and testis size). First, we combined behavioral, genetic and morphometric data from 55 subjects of one group. Second, using demographic and genetic data, we investigated for 92 individuals of the population whether mother- and father-offspring co-residence during immaturity influenced offspring lifetime reproductive success (LRS). Our results show that focal rank and higher amounts of affiliation with high-ranking males during infancy tend to positively impact body mass gain of female, but not male focal animals. In contrast, body mass gain of male focal individuals, but not females', appeared to be higher when affiliation of male immature individuals was evenly distributed across their adult male partners. Moreover, we found mothers', but not fathers', presence during immaturity to predict offspring LRS. Our results suggest that male-immature affiliation, but not father-offspring co-residence, potentially impacts proxies of immature fitness. However, future studies should investigate the underlying mechanisms of male-immature relationships and their impact on immature fitness in more detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doreen Langos
- Junior Research Group of ‘Primate Kin Selection’, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lars Kulik
- Junior Research Group of ‘Primate Kin Selection’, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Junior Research Group of ‘Primate Kin Selection’, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, PO Box 906, Punta Santiago, PR, 00741, United States of America
| | - Anja Widdig
- Junior Research Group of ‘Primate Kin Selection’, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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13
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Sex Differences in the Development of Aggressive Behavior in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta). INT J PRIMATOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-015-9853-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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14
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Pfefferle D, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Widdig A. Male rhesus macaques use vocalizations to distinguish female maternal, but not paternal, kin from non-kin. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015; 69:1677-1686. [PMID: 26379365 PMCID: PMC4562008 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1979-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Revised: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 07/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Recognizing close kin and adjusting one's behavior accordingly (i.e., favor kin in social interactions, but avoid mating with them) would be an important skill that can increase an animals' inclusive fitness. Previous studies showed that philopatric female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) bias their social behavior toward maternal and paternal kin. Benefits gained from selecting kin should, however, not only apply to the philopatric sex, for which the enduring spatial proximity facilitates kin discrimination. Given that dispersal is costly, the dispersing sex may benefit from migrating together with their kin or into groups containing kin. In male rhesus macaques, natal migrants bias their spatial proximity toward familiar male kin rather than familiar non-kin. Here, we set up playback experiments to test if males use the acoustic modality to discriminate familiar female kin from non-kin in a non-sexual context. Males responded differently to the presentation of "coo" calls of related and unrelated females, with their reaction depending on the interaction between kin-line (maternal vs paternal kin) and degree of relatedness (r = 0.5, 0.25). Specifically, males were more likely to respond to close kin compared to more distant kin or unrelated females, with this effect being significant in the maternal, but not paternal kin-line. The present study adds to our knowledge of kin recognition abilities of the dispersing sex, suggesting that male rhesus macaques are also able to identify kin using the acoustic modality. We discuss that the probability of response might be affected by the potential benefit of the social partner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Pfefferle
- />Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- />Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- />Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
- />Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center and Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Angelina V. Ruiz-Lambides
- />Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- />Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- />Caribbean Primate Research Center-Cayo Santiago, University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Anja Widdig
- />Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- />Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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15
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Widdig A, Kessler MJ, Bercovitch FB, Berard JD, Duggleby C, Nürnberg P, Rawlins RG, Sauermann U, Wang Q, Krawczak M, Schmidtke J. Genetic studies on the Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques: A review of 40 years of research. Am J Primatol 2015; 78:44-62. [PMID: 26031601 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2014] [Revised: 04/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Genetic studies not only contribute substantially to our current understanding of the natural variation in behavior and health in many species, they also provide the basis of numerous in vivo models of human traits. Despite the many challenges posed by the high level of biological and social complexity, a long lifespan and difficult access in the field, genetic studies of primates are particularly rewarding because of the close evolutionary relatedness of these species to humans. The free-ranging rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) population on Cayo Santiago (CS), Puerto Rico, provides a unique resource in this respect because several of the abovementioned caveats are of either minor importance there, or lacking altogether, thereby allowing long-term genetic research in a primate population under constant surveillance since 1956. This review summarizes more than 40 years of genetic research carried out on CS, from early blood group typing and the genetic characterization of skeletal material via population-wide paternity testing with DNA fingerprints and short tandem repeats (STRs) to the analysis of the highly polymorphic DQB1 locus within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The results of the paternity studies also facilitated subsequent studies of male dominance and other factors influencing male reproductive success, of male reproductive skew, paternal kin bias, and mechanisms of paternal kin recognition. More recently, the CS macaques have been the subjects of functional genetic and gene expression analyses and have played an important role in behavioral and quantitative genetic studies. In addition, the CS colony has been used as a natural model for human adult-onset macular degeneration, glaucoma, and circadian rhythm disorder. Our review finishes off with a discussion of potential future directions of research on CS, including the transition from STRs to single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing and whole genome sequencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Widdig
- Research Group of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
| | - Matthew J Kessler
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico.,Division of Laboratory Animal Resources, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
| | - Fred B Bercovitch
- Primate Research Institute & Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
| | - John D Berard
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, North Hills, California
| | - Christine Duggleby
- Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
| | - Peter Nürnberg
- Cologne Center for Genomics, University of Cologne, Köln, Germany
| | - Richard G Rawlins
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
| | - Ulrike Sauermann
- Unit of Infection Models, German Primate Center, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas
| | - Michael Krawczak
- Institute of Medical Informatics and Statistics, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jörg Schmidtke
- Institute of Human Genetics, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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