1
|
Rosado MRS, Marzan-Rivera N, Watowich MM, Valle ADND, Pantoja P, Pavez-Fox MA, Siracusa ER, Cooper EB, Valle JEND, Phillips D, Ruiz-Lambides A, Martinez MI, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Higham JP, Brent LJN, Sariol CA, Snyder-Mackler N. Immune cell composition varies by age, sex and exposure to social adversity in free-ranging Rhesus Macaques. GeroScience 2024; 46:2107-2122. [PMID: 37853187 PMCID: PMC10828448 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00962-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing age is associated with dysregulated immune function and increased inflammation-patterns that are also observed in individuals exposed to chronic social adversity. Yet we still know little about how social adversity impacts the immune system and how it might promote age-related diseases. Here, we investigated how immune cell diversity varied with age, sex and social adversity (operationalized as low social status) in free-ranging rhesus macaques. We found age-related signatures of immunosenescence, including lower proportions of CD20 + B cells, CD20 + /CD3 + ratio, and CD4 + /CD8 + T cell ratio - all signs of diminished antibody production. Age was associated with higher proportions of CD3 + /CD8 + Cytotoxic T cells, CD16 + /CD3- Natural Killer cells, CD3 + /CD4 + /CD25 + and CD3 + /CD8 + /CD25 + T cells, and CD14 + /CD16 + /HLA-DR + intermediate monocytes, and lower levels of CD14 + /CD16-/HLA-DR + classical monocytes, indicating greater amounts of inflammation and immune dysregulation. We also found a sex-dependent effect of exposure to social adversity (i.e., low social status). High-status males, relative to females, had higher CD20 + /CD3 + ratios and CD16 + /CD3 Natural Killer cell proportions, and lower proportions of CD8 + Cytotoxic T cells. Further, low-status females had higher proportions of cytotoxic T cells than high-status females, while the opposite was observed in males. High-status males had higher CD20 + /CD3 + ratios than low-status males. Together, our study identifies the strong age and sex-dependent effects of social adversity on immune cell proportions in a human-relevant primate model. Thus, these results provide novel insights into the combined effects of demography and social adversity on immunity and their potential contribution to age-related diseases in humans and other animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell R Sanchez Rosado
- Department of Microbiology & Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences, San Juan, PR, USA.
| | - Nicole Marzan-Rivera
- Department of Microbiology & Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Marina M Watowich
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Petraleigh Pantoja
- Department of Microbiology & Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences, San Juan, PR, USA
- Unit of Comparative Medicine, Caribbean Primate Research Center and Animal Resources Center, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Melissa A Pavez-Fox
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Erin R Siracusa
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Eve B Cooper
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Josue E Negron-Del Valle
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Daniel Phillips
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Unit of Comparative Medicine, Caribbean Primate Research Center and Animal Resources Center, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Melween I Martinez
- Unit of Comparative Medicine, Caribbean Primate Research Center and Animal Resources Center, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Marketing, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Carlos A Sariol
- Department of Microbiology & Medical Zoology, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences, San Juan, PR, USA
- Unit of Comparative Medicine, Caribbean Primate Research Center and Animal Resources Center, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Siracusa ER, Pavez-Fox MA, Negron-Del Valle JE, Phillips D, Platt ML, Snyder-Mackler N, Higham JP, Brent LJN, Silk MJ. Social ageing can protect against infectious disease in a group-living primate. bioRxiv 2024:2024.03.09.584237. [PMID: 38559098 PMCID: PMC10979879 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.09.584237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The benefits of social living are well established, but sociality also comes with costs, including infectious disease risk. This cost-benefit ratio of sociality is expected to change across individuals' lifespans, which may drive changes in social behaviour with age. To explore this idea, we combine data from a group-living primate for which social ageing has been described with epidemiological models to show that having lower social connectedness when older can protect against the costs of a hypothetical, directly transmitted endemic pathogen. Assuming no age differences in epidemiological characteristics (susceptibility to, severity, and duration of infection), older individuals suffered lower infection costs, which was explained largely because they were less connected in their social networks than younger individuals. This benefit of 'social ageing' depended on epidemiological characteristics and was greatest when infection severity increased with age. When infection duration increased with age, social ageing was beneficial only when pathogen transmissibility was low. Older individuals benefited most from having a lower frequency of interactions (strength) and network embeddedness (closeness) and benefited less from having fewer social partners (degree). Our study provides a first examination of the epidemiology of social ageing, demonstrating the potential for pathogens to influence evolutionary dynamics of social ageing in natural populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erin R. Siracusa
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | | | - Daniel Phillips
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
| | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Matthew J. Silk
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Turcotte CM, Choi AM, Spear JK, Hernandez-Janer EM, Dickinson E, Taboada HG, Stock MK, Villamil CI, Bauman SE, Martinez MI, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Williams SA, Antón SC, Higham JP. Mechanical and morphometric approaches to body mass estimation in rhesus macaques: A test of skeletal variables. Am J Biol Anthropol 2024:e24901. [PMID: 38445298 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Estimation of body mass from skeletal metrics can reveal important insights into the paleobiology of archeological or fossil remains. The standard approach constructs predictive equations from postcrania, but studies have questioned the reliability of traditional measures. Here, we examine several skeletal features to assess their accuracy in predicting body mass. MATERIALS AND METHODS Antemortem mass measurements were compared with common skeletal dimensions from the same animals postmortem, using 115 rhesus macaques (male: n = 43; female: n = 72). Individuals were divided into training (n = 58) and test samples (n = 57) to build and assess Ordinary Least Squares or multivariate regressions by residual sum of squares (RSS) and AIC weights. A leave-one-out approach was implemented to formulate the best fit multivariate models, which were compared against a univariate and a previously published catarrhine body-mass estimation model. RESULTS Femur circumference represented the best univariate model. The best model overall was composed of four variables (femur, tibia and fibula circumference and humerus length). By RSS and AICw, models built from rhesus macaque data (RSS = 26.91, AIC = -20.66) better predicted body mass than did the catarrhine model (RSS = 65.47, AIC = 20.24). CONCLUSION Body mass in rhesus macaques is best predicted by a 4-variable equation composed of humerus length and hind limb midshaft circumferences. Comparison of models built from the macaque versus the catarrhine data highlight the importance of taxonomic specificity in predicting body mass. This paper provides a valuable dataset of combined somatic and skeletal data in a primate, which can be used to build body mass equations for fragmentary fossil evidence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra M Turcotte
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, USA
| | - Audrey M Choi
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Spear
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Eva M Hernandez-Janer
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Edwin Dickinson
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, USA
| | - Hannah G Taboada
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michala K Stock
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Catalina I Villamil
- School of Chiropractic, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Samuel E Bauman
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Melween I Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | | | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Susan C Antón
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Turcotte CM, Choi AM, Spear JK, Hernandez-Janer EM, Taboada HG, Stock MK, Villamil CI, Bauman SE, Martinez MI, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Williams SA, Higham JP, Antón SC. Quantifying the relationship between bone and soft tissue measures within the rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago. Am J Biol Anthropol 2024:e24920. [PMID: 38447005 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Interpretations of the primate and human fossil record often rely on the estimation of somatic dimensions from bony measures. Both somatic and skeletal variation have been used to assess how primates respond to environmental change. However, it is unclear how well skeletal variation matches and predicts soft tissue. Here, we empirically test the relationship between tissues by comparing somatic and skeletal measures using paired measures of pre- and post-mortem rhesus macaques from Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. MATERIALS AND METHODS Somatic measurements were matched with skeletal dimensions from 105 rhesus macaque individuals to investigate paired signals of variation (i.e., coefficients of variation, sexual dimorphism) and bivariate codependence (reduced major axis regression) in measures of: (1) limb length; (2) joint breadth; and (3) limb circumference. Predictive models for the estimation of soft tissue dimensions from skeletons were built from Ordinary Least Squares regressions. RESULTS Somatic and skeletal measurements showed statistically equivalent coefficients of variation and sexual dimorphism as well as high epiphyses-present ordinary least square (OLS) correlations in limb lengths (R2 >0.78, 0.82), joint breadths (R2 >0.74, 0.83) and, to a lesser extent, limb circumference (R2 >0.53, 0.68). CONCLUSION Skeletal measurements are good substitutions for somatic values based on population signals of variation. OLS regressions indicate that skeletal correlates are highly predictive of somatic dimensions. The protocols and regression equations established here provide a basis for reliable reconstruction of somatic dimension from catarrhine fossils and validate our ability to compare or combine results of studies based on population data of either hard or soft tissue proxies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra M Turcotte
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, USA
| | - Audrey M Choi
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Spear
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Eva M Hernandez-Janer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Hannah G Taboada
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michala K Stock
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Catalina I Villamil
- Doctor of Chiropractic Program, School of Health Sciences and Technologies, Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Samuel E Bauman
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Melween I Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | | | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| | - Susan C Antón
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Freudiger A, Jovanovic VM, Huang Y, Snyder-Mackler N, Conrad DF, Miller B, Montague MJ, Westphal H, Stadler PF, Bley S, Horvath JE, Brent LJN, Platt ML, Ruiz-Lambides A, Tung J, Nowick K, Ringbauer H, Widdig A. Taking identity-by-descent analysis into the wild: Estimating realized relatedness in free-ranging macaques. bioRxiv 2024:2024.01.09.574911. [PMID: 38260273 PMCID: PMC10802400 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.09.574911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Biological relatedness is a key consideration in studies of behavior, population structure, and trait evolution. Except for parent-offspring dyads, pedigrees capture relatedness imperfectly. The number and length of DNA segments that are identical-by-descent (IBD) yield the most precise estimates of relatedness. Here, we leverage novel methods for estimating locus-specific IBD from low coverage whole genome resequencing data to demonstrate the feasibility and value of resolving fine-scaled gradients of relatedness in free-living animals. Using primarily 4-6× coverage data from a rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) population with available long-term pedigree data, we show that we can call the number and length of IBD segments across the genome with high accuracy even at 0.5× coverage. The resulting estimates demonstrate substantial variation in genetic relatedness within kin classes, leading to overlapping distributions between kin classes. They identify cryptic genetic relatives that are not represented in the pedigree and reveal elevated recombination rates in females relative to males, which allows us to discriminate maternal and paternal kin using genotype data alone. Our findings represent a breakthrough in the ability to understand the predictors and consequences of genetic relatedness in natural populations, contributing to our understanding of a fundamental component of population structure in the wild.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Annika Freudiger
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Vladimir M Jovanovic
- Human Biology and Primate Evolution, Institut für Zoologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bioinformatics Solution Center, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yilei Huang
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Computer Science, and Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution & Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
| | - Donald F Conrad
- Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Brian Miller
- Division of Genetics, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Hendrikje Westphal
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Computer Science, and Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Peter F Stadler
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Computer Science, and Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Austria
- Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - Stefanie Bley
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Julie E Horvath
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina, Durham, USA
- Research and Collections Section, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina, Raleigh, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, North Carolina, Raleigh, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, North Carolina, Durham, USA
- Renaissance Computing Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Marketing Department, the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Cayo Santiago Field Station, Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
| | - Jenny Tung
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, North Carolina, Durham, USA
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke University Population Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Katja Nowick
- Human Biology and Primate Evolution, Institut für Zoologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bioinformatics Solution Center, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Harald Ringbauer
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anja Widdig
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Newman LE, Testard C, DeCasien AR, Chiou KL, Watowich MM, Janiak MC, Pavez-Fox MA, Sanchez Rosado MR, Cooper EB, Costa CE, Petersen RM, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Higham JP. The biology of aging in a social world: Insights from free-ranging rhesus macaques. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 154:105424. [PMID: 37827475 PMCID: PMC10872885 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Social adversity can increase the age-associated risk of disease and death, yet the biological mechanisms that link social adversities to aging remain poorly understood. Long-term naturalistic studies of nonhuman animals are crucial for integrating observations of social behavior throughout an individual's life with detailed anatomical, physiological, and molecular measurements. Here, we synthesize the body of research from one such naturalistic study system, Cayo Santiago, which is home to the world's longest continuously monitored free-ranging population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). We review recent studies of age-related variation in morphology, gene regulation, microbiome composition, and immune function. We also discuss ecological and social modifiers of age-markers in this population. In particular, we summarize how a major natural disaster, Hurricane Maria, affected rhesus macaque physiology and social structure and highlight the context-dependent and domain-specific nature of aging modifiers. Finally, we conclude by providing directions for future study, on Cayo Santiago and elsewhere, that will further our understanding of aging across different domains and how social adversity modifies aging processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Newman
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Alex R DeCasien
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kenneth L Chiou
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Marina M Watowich
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Mareike C Janiak
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Melissa A Pavez-Fox
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, United Kingdom
| | | | - Eve B Cooper
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christina E Costa
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rachel M Petersen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Marketing Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Roche CE, Montague MJ, Wang J, Dickey AN, Ruiz-Lambides A, Brent LJN, Platt ML, Horvath JE. Yearly variation coupled with social interactions shape the skin microbiome in free-ranging rhesus macaques. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0297423. [PMID: 37750731 PMCID: PMC10580906 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02974-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
While skin microbes are known to mediate human health and disease, there has been minimal research on the interactions between skin microbiota, social behavior, and year-to-year effects in non-human primates-important animal models for translational biomedical research. To examine these relationships, we analyzed skin microbes from 78 rhesus macaques living on Cayo Santiago Island, Puerto Rico. We considered age, sex, and social group membership, and characterized social behavior by assessing dominance rank and patterns of grooming as compared to nonsocial behaviors. To measure the effects of a shifting environment, we sampled skin microbiota (based on sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA V4 region) and assessed weather across sampling periods between 2013 and 2015. We hypothesized that, first, monkeys with similar social behavior and/or in the same social group would possess similar skin microbial composition due, in part, to physical contact, and, second, microbial diversity would differ across sampling periods. We found significant phylum-level differences between social groups in the core microbiome as well as an association between total grooming rates and alpha diversity in the complete microbiome, but no association between microbial diversity and measures of rank or other nonsocial behaviors. We also identified alpha and beta diversity differences in microbiota and differential taxa abundance across two sampling periods. Our findings indicate that social dynamics interact with yearly environmental changes to shape the skin microbiota in rhesus macaques, with potential implications for understanding the factors affecting the microbiome in humans, which share many biological and social characteristics with these animals. IMPORTANCE Primate studies are valuable for translational and evolutionary insights into the human microbiome. The majority of primate microbiome studies focus on the gut, so less is known about the factors impacting the microbes on skin and how their links affect health and behavior. Here, we probe the impact of social interactions and the yearly environmental changes on food-provisioned, free-ranging monkeys living on a small island. We expected animals that lived together and groomed each other would have more similar microbes on their skin, but surprisingly found that the external environment was a stronger influence on skin microbiome composition. These findings have implications for our understanding of the human skin microbiome, including potential manipulations to improve health and treat disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael J. Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - JiCi Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Allison N. Dickey
- Bioinformatics Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Marketing Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Julie E. Horvath
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
- Renaissance Computing Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Patterson SK, Petersen RM, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Lea AJ, Higham JP. Natural Animal Populations as Model Systems for Understanding Early Life Adversity Effects on Aging. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:681-692. [PMID: 37279895 PMCID: PMC10503476 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Adverse experiences in early life are associated with aging-related disease risk and mortality across many species. In humans, confounding factors, as well as the difficulty of directly measuring experiences and outcomes from birth till death, make it challenging to identify how early life adversity impacts aging and health. These challenges can be mitigated, in part, through the study of non-human animals, which are exposed to parallel forms of adversity and can age similarly to humans. Furthermore, studying the links between early life adversity and aging in natural populations of non-human animals provides an excellent opportunity to better understand the social and ecological pressures that shaped the evolution of early life sensitivities. Here, we highlight ongoing and future research directions that we believe will most effectively contribute to our understanding of the evolution of early life sensitivities and their repercussions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sam K Patterson
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York City, 10003, USA
| | - Rachel M Petersen
- Department of Biological Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, 37232, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, United Kingdom
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Center for Evolution and Medicine, and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, 85281, USA
| | - Amanda J Lea
- Department of Biological Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, 37232, USA
- Child and Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Study, Toronto, M5G 1M1, Canada
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York City, 10003, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Hart JDA, Weiss MN, Franks DW, Brent LJN. BISoN: A Bayesian Framework for Inference of Social Networks. Methods Ecol Evol 2023; 14:2411-2420. [PMID: 38463700 PMCID: PMC10923527 DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.14171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Animal social networks are often constructed from point estimates of edge weights. In many contexts, edge weights are inferred from observational data, and the uncertainty around estimates can be affected by various factors. Though this has been acknowledged in previous work, methods that explicitly quantify uncertainty in edge weights have not yet been widely adopted, and remain undeveloped for many common types of data. Furthermore, existing methods are unable to cope with some of the complexities often found in observational data, and do not propagate uncertainty in edge weights to subsequent statistical analyses.We introduce a unified Bayesian framework for modelling social networks based on observational data. This framework, which we call BISoN, can accommodate many common types of observational social data, can capture confounds and model effects at the level of observations, and is fully compatible with popular methods used in social network analysis.We show how the framework can be applied to common types of data and how various types of downstream statistical analyses can be performed, including non-random association tests and regressions on network properties.Our framework opens up the opportunity to test new types of hypotheses, make full use of observational datasets, and increase the reliability of scientific inferences. We have made both an R package and example R scripts available to enable adoption of the framework.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan D A Hart
- University of Exeter - Department of Psychology, Washington Singer Building Perry Road Exeter, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QJ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Exeter, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Daniel W Franks
- University of York - Biology, The University of York Heslington, York YO105DD, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- University of Exeter - Center for Research in Animal Behaviour, Exeter, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Grimes C, Brent LJN, Ellis S, Weiss MN, Franks DW, Ellifrit DK, Croft DP. Postreproductive female killer whales reduce socially inflicted injuries in their male offspring. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3250-3256.e4. [PMID: 37478863 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the evolution of menopause presents a long-standing scientific challenge1,2,3-why should females cease ovulation prior to the end of their natural lifespan? In human societies, intergenerational resource transfers, for example, food sharing and caregiving, are thought to have played a key role in the evolution of menopause, providing a pathway by which postreproductive females can boost the fitness of their kin.4,5,6 To date however, other late-life contributions that postreproductive females may provide their kin have not been well studied. Here, we test the hypothesis that postreproductive female resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) provide social support to their offspring by reducing the socially inflicted injuries they experience. We found that socially inflicted injuries, as quantified by tooth rake marks, are lower for male offspring in the presence of their postreproductive mother. In contrast, we find no evidence that postreproductive mothers reduce rake marking in their daughters. Similarly, we find no evidence that either reproductive mothers or grandmothers (reproductive or postreproductive) reduce socially inflicted injuries in their offspring and grandoffspring, respectively. Moreover, we find that postreproductive females have no effect on reducing the rake marks for whales in their social unit who are not their offspring. Taken together, our results highlight that directing late-life support may be a key pathway by which postreproductive females transfer social benefits to their male offspring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charli Grimes
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG Exeter, UK.
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG Exeter, UK
| | - Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG Exeter, UK
| | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG Exeter, UK; Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA
| | - Daniel W Franks
- Department of Biology, University of York, YO10 5DD York, UK
| | | | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG Exeter, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Motes-Rodrigo A, Albery GF, Negron-Del Valle JE, Philips D, Platt ML, Brent LJN, Testard C. Social responses to a hurricane drive greater epidemic risk. bioRxiv 2023:2023.07.17.549341. [PMID: 37503037 PMCID: PMC10370147 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.17.549341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to climate change has the potential to alter ecosystem dynamics and wildlife health. Here we show that increasing social connections in response to a hurricane enhanced disease transmission risk for years after the event in a population of rhesus macaques. Our findings reveal that behavioural responses to natural disasters can elevate epidemic risk, thereby threatening wildlife health, population viability, and spillover to humans.
Collapse
|
12
|
Pereira AS, De Moor D, Casanova C, Brent LJN. Kinship composition in mammals. R Soc Open Sci 2023; 10:230486. [PMID: 37476521 PMCID: PMC10354477 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the evolution of group-living and cooperation requires information on who animals live and cooperate with. Animals can live with kin, non-kin or both, and kinship structure can influence the benefits and costs of group-living and the evolution of within-group cooperation. One aspect of kinship structure is kinship composition, i.e. a group-level attribute of the presence of kin and/or non-kin dyads in groups. Despite its putative importance, the kinship composition of mammalian groups has yet to be characterized. Here, we use the published literature to build an initial kinship composition dataset in mammals, laying the groundwork for future work in the field. In roughly half of the 18 species in our sample, individuals lived solely with same-sex kin, and, in the other half, individuals lived with related and unrelated individuals of the same sex. These initial results suggest that it is not rare for social mammals to live with unrelated individuals of the same sex, highlighting the importance of considering indirect and direct fitness benefits as co-drivers of the evolution of sociality. We hope that our initial dataset and insights will spur the study of kinship structure and sociality towards new exciting avenues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- André S. Pereira
- Centre for Research in Animal Behavior, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Delphine De Moor
- Centre for Research in Animal Behavior, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Catarina Casanova
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
- CAPP, ISCSP, University of Lisbon, 1300-663 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behavior, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Fernandes AG, Alexopoulos P, Burgos-Rodriguez A, Martinez MI, Ghassibi M, Leskov I, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Danias J, Wollstein G, Higham JP, Melin AD. Age-Related Differences in Ocular Features of a Naturalistic Free-Ranging Population of Rhesus Macaques. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2023; 64:3. [PMID: 37261386 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.64.7.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are the premier nonhuman primate model for studying human health and disease. We investigated if age was associated with clinically relevant ocular features in a large cohort of free-ranging rhesus macaques from Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Methods We evaluated 120 rhesus macaques (73 males, 47 females) from 0 to 29 years old (mean ± SD: 12.6 ± 6.4) from September to December 2021. The ophthalmic evaluation included intraocular pressure (IOP) assessment, corneal pachymetry, biomicroscopy, A-scan biometry, automated refraction, and fundus photography after pupil dilation. The associations of age with the outcomes were investigated through multilevel mixed-effects models adjusted for sex and weight. Results On average, IOP, pachymetry, axial length, and automated refraction spherical equivalent were 18.37 ± 4.68 mmHg, 474.43 ± 32.21 µm, 19.49 ± 1.24 mm, and 0.30 ± 1.70 diopters (D), respectively. Age was significantly associated with pachymetry (β coefficient = -1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.27 to -0.14; P = 0.026), axial length (β coefficient = 0.03; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.05; P = 0.002), and spherical equivalent (β coefficient = -0.12; 95% CI, -0.22 to -0.02; P = 0.015). No association was detected between age and IOP. The prevalence of cataracts in either eye was 10.83% (95% CI, 6.34-17.89) and was significantly associated with age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.06-1.36; P = 0.004). Retinal drusen in either eye was observed in 15.00% (95% CI, 9.60-22.68) of animals, which was also significantly associated with age (OR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02-1.27; P = 0.020). Conclusions Rhesus macaques exhibit age-related ocular associations similar to those observed in human aging, including decreased corneal thickness, increased axial length, myopic shift, and higher prevalence of cataract and retinal drusen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arthur G Fernandes
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Palaiologos Alexopoulos
- Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York, United States
| | - Armando Burgos-Rodriguez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States
| | - Melween I Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Mark Ghassibi
- Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, United States
| | - Ilya Leskov
- Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, United States
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Center for Research in Animal Behavior, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
| | - John Danias
- Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, United States
| | - Gadi Wollstein
- Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York, United States
| | - James P Higham
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Department of Anthropology, New York University College of Arts & Science, New York, New York, United States
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Siracusa ER, Pereira AS, Brask JB, Negron-Del Valle JE, Phillips D, Platt ML, Higham JP, Snyder-Mackler N, Brent LJN. Ageing in a collective: the impact of ageing individuals on social network structure. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220061. [PMID: 36802789 PMCID: PMC9939263 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Ageing affects many phenotypic traits, but its consequences for social behaviour have only recently become apparent. Social networks emerge from associations between individuals. The changes in sociality that occur as individuals get older are thus likely to impact network structure, yet this remains unstudied. Here we use empirical data from free-ranging rhesus macaques and an agent-based model to test how age-based changes in social behaviour feed up to influence: (i) an individual's level of indirect connectedness in their network and (ii) overall patterns of network structure. Our empirical analyses revealed that female macaques became less indirectly connected as they aged for some, but not for all network measures examined. This suggests that indirect connectivity is affected by ageing, and that ageing animals can remain well integrated in some social contexts. Surprisingly, we did not find evidence for a relationship between age distribution and the structure of female macaque networks. We used an agent-based model to gain further understanding of the link between age-based differences in sociality and global network structure, and under which circumstances global effects may be detectable. Overall, our results suggest a potentially important and underappreciated role of age in the structure and function of animal collectives, which warrants further investigation. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erin R. Siracusa
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - André S. Pereira
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Josefine Bohr Brask
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Daniel Phillips
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Cayo Biobank Research Unit
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA
| | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
- School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Arizona, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Chiou KL, DeCasien AR, Rees KP, Testard C, Spurrell CH, Gogate AA, Pliner HA, Tremblay S, Mercer A, Whalen CJ, Negrón-Del Valle JE, Janiak MC, Bauman Surratt SE, González O, Compo NR, Stock MK, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Martínez MI, Wilson MA, Melin AD, Antón SC, Walker CS, Sallet J, Newbern JM, Starita LM, Shendure J, Higham JP, Brent LJN, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Snyder-Mackler N. Multiregion transcriptomic profiling of the primate brain reveals signatures of aging and the social environment. Nat Neurosci 2022; 25:1714-1723. [PMID: 36424430 PMCID: PMC10055353 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01197-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Aging is accompanied by a host of social and biological changes that correlate with behavior, cognitive health and susceptibility to neurodegenerative disease. To understand trajectories of brain aging in a primate, we generated a multiregion bulk (N = 527 samples) and single-nucleus (N = 24 samples) brain transcriptional dataset encompassing 15 brain regions and both sexes in a unique population of free-ranging, behaviorally phenotyped rhesus macaques. We demonstrate that age-related changes in the level and variance of gene expression occur in genes associated with neural functions and neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Further, we show that higher social status in females is associated with younger relative transcriptional ages, providing a link between the social environment and aging in the brain. Our findings lend insight into biological mechanisms underlying brain aging in a nonhuman primate model of human behavior, cognition and health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth L Chiou
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. .,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. .,Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. .,Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Alex R DeCasien
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA. .,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Katherina P Rees
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Aishwarya A Gogate
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.,Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Hannah A Pliner
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sébastien Tremblay
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Arianne Mercer
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Connor J Whalen
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Mareike C Janiak
- School of Science, Engineering, & Environment, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | | | - Olga González
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Nicole R Compo
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA
| | - Michala K Stock
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | | | - Melween I Martínez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, USA
| | | | - Melissa A Wilson
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Susan C Antón
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Christopher S Walker
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, Université Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Jason M Newbern
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Lea M Starita
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jay Shendure
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.,Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Marketing Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. .,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. .,Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. .,Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. .,Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. .,ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. .,School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Ellis S, Johnstone RA, Cant MA, Franks DW, Weiss MN, Alberts SC, Balcomb KC, Benton CH, Brent LJN, Crockford C, Davidian E, Delahay RJ, Ellifrit DK, Höner OP, Meniri M, McDonald RA, Nichols HJ, Thompson FJ, Vigilant L, Wittig RM, Croft DP. Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal societies. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1766-1776. [PMID: 36163259 PMCID: PMC10423498 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01872-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The ultimate payoff of behaviours depends not only on their direct impact on an individual, but also on the impact on their relatives. Local relatedness-the average relatedness of an individual to their social environment-therefore has profound effects on social and life history evolution. Recent work has begun to show that local relatedness has the potential to change systematically over an individual's lifetime, a process called kinship dynamics. However, it is unclear how general these kinship dynamics are, whether they are predictable in real systems and their effects on behaviour and life history evolution. In this study, we combine modelling with data from real systems to explore the extent and impact of kinship dynamics. We use data from seven group-living mammals with diverse social and mating systems to demonstrate not only that kinship dynamics occur in animal systems, but also that the direction and magnitude of kinship dynamics can be accurately predicted using a simple model. We use a theoretical model to demonstrate that kinship dynamics can profoundly affect lifetime patterns of behaviour and can drive sex differences in helping and harming behaviour across the lifespan in social species. Taken together, this work demonstrates that kinship dynamics are likely to be a fundamental dimension of social evolution, especially when considering age-linked changes and sex differences in behaviour and life history.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | | | - Michael A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
| | - Susan C Alberts
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Claire H Benton
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, Lyon, France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Eve Davidian
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Richard J Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | | | - Oliver P Höner
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Magali Meniri
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Faye J Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Hart JDA, Weiss MN, Brent LJN, Franks DW. Common permutation methods in animal social network analysis do not control for non-independence. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022; 76:151. [PMID: 36325506 PMCID: PMC9617964 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03254-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The non-independence of social network data is a cause for concern among behavioural ecologists conducting social network analysis. This has led to the adoption of several permutation-based methods for testing common hypotheses. One of the most common types of analysis is nodal regression, where the relationships between node-level network metrics and nodal covariates are analysed using a permutation technique known as node-label permutations. We show that, contrary to accepted wisdom, node-label permutations do not automatically account for the non-independences assumed to exist in network data, because regression-based permutation tests still assume exchangeability of residuals. The same assumption also applies to the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP), a permutation-based method often used for conducting dyadic regression. We highlight that node-label permutations produce the same p-values as equivalent parametric regression models, but that in the presence of non-independence, parametric regression models can also produce accurate effect size estimates. We also note that QAP only controls for a specific type of non-independence between edges that are connected to the same nodes, and that appropriate parametric regression models are also able to account for this type of non-independence. Based on this, we suggest that standard parametric models could be used in the place of permutation-based methods. Moving away from permutation-based methods could have several benefits, including reducing over-reliance on p-values, generating more reliable effect size estimates, and facilitating the adoption of causal inference methods and alternative types of statistical analysis. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-022-03254-x.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan D. A. Hart
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Michael N. Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbour, WA USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Daniel W. Franks
- Departments of Biology and Computer Science, University of York, York, UK
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Cooper EB, Watowich MM, Beeby N, Whalen C, Montague MJ, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Higham JP. Concentrations of urinary neopterin, but not suPAR, positively correlate with age in rhesus macaques. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1007052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying biomarkers of age-related changes in immune system functioning that can be measured non-invasively is a significant step in progressing research on immunosenescence and inflammaging in free-ranging and wild animal populations. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the suitability of two urinary compounds, neopterin and suPAR, as biomarkers of age-related changes in immune activation and inflammation in a free-ranging rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) population. We also investigated age-associated variation in gene transcription from blood samples to understand the underlying proximate mechanisms that drive age-related changes in urinary neopterin or suPAR. Neopterin was significantly positively correlated with age, and had a moderate within-individual repeatability, indicating it is applicable as a biomarker of age-related changes. The age-related changes in urinary neopterin are not apparently driven by an age-related increase in the primary signaler of neopterin, IFN-y, but may be driven instead by an age-related increase in both CD14+ and CD14− monocytes. suPAR was not correlated with age, and had low repeatability within-individuals, indicating that it is likely better suited to measure acute inflammation rather than chronic age-related increases in inflammation (i.e., “inflammaging”). Neopterin and suPAR had a correlation of 25%, indicating that they likely often signal different processes, which if disentangled could provide a nuanced picture of immune-system function and inflammation when measured in tandem.
Collapse
|
19
|
Kuthyar S, Watson K, Huang S, Brent LJN, Platt M, Horvath J, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Martínez M, Godoy-Vitorino F, Knight R, Dominguez-Bello MG, Amato KR. Limited microbiome differences in captive and semi-wild primate populations consuming similar diets. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2022; 98:fiac098. [PMID: 36047944 PMCID: PMC9528791 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiac098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Gut microbial communities are shaped by a myriad of extrinsic factors, including diet and the environment. Although distinct human populations consistently exhibit different gut microbiome compositions, variation in diet and environmental factors are almost always coupled, making it difficult to disentangle their relative contributions to shaping the gut microbiota. Data from discrete animal populations with similar diets can help reduce confounds. Here, we assessed the gut microbiota of free-ranging and captive rhesus macaques with at least 80% diet similarity to test the hypothesis that hosts in difference environments will have different gut microbiomes despite a shared diet. Although we found that location was a significant predictor of gut microbial composition, the magnitude of observed differences was relatively small. These patterns suggest that a shared diet may limit the typical influence of environmental microbial exposure on the gut microbiota.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sahana Kuthyar
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University 1810 Hinman Avenue Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Karli Watson
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder 1777 Exposition Drive Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Shi Huang
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Center for Microbiome Innovation, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter Stocker Rd, Exeter EX4 4PY, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 415 Curie Blvd Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 425 S. University Ave Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6018, USA
- Department of Marketing, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA, USA 19104, PA, USA
| | - Julie Horvath
- Research and Collections, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W Jones St, Raleigh, NC, 27601, USA
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences Department, North Carolina Central University, 1801 Fayetteville St, Durham, NC, 27707, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 104 Biological Sciences Campus Box 90383 Durham, NC, 27708, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, 3510 Thomas Hall Campus Box 7614 Raleigh, NC, USA 27695, USA
| | - Janis Gonzalez-Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico Cayo Santiago, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico, Humacao 00741, Puerto Rico
| | - Melween Martínez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico Cayo Santiago, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico, Humacao 00741, Puerto Rico
| | - Filipa Godoy-Vitorino
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, PO BOX 365067 San Juan, PR 00936-5067, Puerto Rico
| | - Rob Knight
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Center for Microbiome Innovation, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Computer Sciences and Engineering, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ, USA 08901, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA 1810, USA
| | - Katherine R Amato
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University 1810 Hinman Avenue Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Cooper EB, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Singh M, Sengupta A, Khatiwada S, Malaivijitnond S, Qi Hai Z, Higham JP. The natural history of model organisms: the rhesus macaque as a success story of the Anthropocene. eLife 2022; 11:78169. [PMID: 35801697 PMCID: PMC9345599 DOI: 10.7554/elife.78169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Of all the non-human primate species studied by researchers, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) is likely the most widely used across biological disciplines. Rhesus macaques have thrived during the Anthropocene and now have the largest natural range of any non-human primate. They are highly social, exhibit marked genetic diversity, and display remarkable niche flexibility (which allows them to live in a range of habitats and survive on a variety of diets). These characteristics mean that rhesus macaques are well-suited for understanding the links between sociality, health and fitness, and also for investigating intra-specific variation, adaptation and other topics in evolutionary ecology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eve B Cooper
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, United States
| | | | | | - Mewa Singh
- Biopsychology Laboratory, University of Mysore, Mysuru, India
| | | | - Sunil Khatiwada
- Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Garbatka, Poland
| | | | - Zhou Qi Hai
- Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, United States
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Bonnet T, Morrissey MB, de Villemereuil P, Alberts SC, Arcese P, Bailey LD, Boutin S, Brekke P, Brent LJN, Camenisch G, Charmantier A, Clutton-Brock TH, Cockburn A, Coltman DW, Courtiol A, Davidian E, Evans SR, Ewen JG, Festa-Bianchet M, de Franceschi C, Gustafsson L, Höner OP, Houslay TM, Keller LF, Manser M, McAdam AG, McLean E, Nietlisbach P, Osmond HL, Pemberton JM, Postma E, Reid JM, Rutschmann A, Santure AW, Sheldon BC, Slate J, Teplitsky C, Visser ME, Wachter B, Kruuk LEB. Genetic variance in fitness indicates rapid contemporary adaptive evolution in wild animals. Science 2022; 376:1012-1016. [PMID: 35617403 DOI: 10.1126/science.abk0853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The rate of adaptive evolution, the contribution of selection to genetic changes that increase mean fitness, is determined by the additive genetic variance in individual relative fitness. To date, there are few robust estimates of this parameter for natural populations, and it is therefore unclear whether adaptive evolution can play a meaningful role in short-term population dynamics. We developed and applied quantitative genetic methods to long-term datasets from 19 wild bird and mammal populations and found that, while estimates vary between populations, additive genetic variance in relative fitness is often substantial and, on average, twice that of previous estimates. We show that these rates of contemporary adaptive evolution can affect population dynamics and hence that natural selection has the potential to partly mitigate effects of current environmental change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Timothée Bonnet
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | | | - Pierre de Villemereuil
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL, MNHN, CNRS, SU, UA, Paris, France.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Susan C Alberts
- Departments of Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Peter Arcese
- Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Liam D Bailey
- Departments of Evolutionary Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Patricia Brekke
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Glauco Camenisch
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Anne Charmantier
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Tim H Clutton-Brock
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Andrew Cockburn
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - David W Coltman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Alexandre Courtiol
- Departments of Evolutionary Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eve Davidian
- Departments of Evolutionary Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Simon R Evans
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - John G Ewen
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK
| | | | - Christophe de Franceschi
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Lars Gustafsson
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Oliver P Höner
- Departments of Evolutionary Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas M Houslay
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Lukas F Keller
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Zoological Museum, University of Zurich,, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marta Manser
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Andrew G McAdam
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Emily McLean
- Biology Department, Oxford College, Emory University, Oxford, GA, USA
| | - Pirmin Nietlisbach
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - Helen L Osmond
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | | | - Erik Postma
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Jane M Reid
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.,School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Alexis Rutschmann
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Anna W Santure
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Jon Slate
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Céline Teplitsky
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Bettina Wachter
- Departments of Evolutionary Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Loeske E B Kruuk
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.,Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Testard C, Brent LJN, Andersson J, Chiou KL, Negron-Del Valle JE, DeCasien AR, Acevedo-Ithier A, Stock MK, Antón SC, Gonzalez O, Walker CS, Foxley S, Compo NR, Bauman S, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Martinez MI, Skene JHP, Horvath JE, Unit CBR, Higham JP, Miller KL, Snyder-Mackler N, Montague MJ, Platt ML, Sallet J. Social connections predict brain structure in a multidimensional free-ranging primate society. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabl5794. [PMID: 35417242 PMCID: PMC9007502 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl5794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Reproduction and survival in most primate species reflects management of both competitive and cooperative relationships. Here, we investigated the links between neuroanatomy and sociality in free-ranging rhesus macaques. In adults, the number of social partners predicted the volume of the mid-superior temporal sulcus and ventral-dysgranular insula, implicated in social decision-making and empathy, respectively. We found no link between brain structure and other key social variables such as social status or indirect connectedness in adults, nor between maternal social networks or status and dependent infant brain structure. Our findings demonstrate that the size of specific brain structures varies with the number of direct affiliative social connections and suggest that this relationship may arise during development. These results reinforce proposed links between social network size, biological success, and the expansion of specific brain circuits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Kenneth L. Chiou
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Josue E. Negron-Del Valle
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Alex R. DeCasien
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, NYCEP, New York, NY, USA
- Section on Developmental Neurogenomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Michala K. Stock
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Susan C. Antón
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, NYCEP, New York, NY, USA
| | - Olga Gonzalez
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Christopher S. Walker
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Sean Foxley
- Wellcome Integrative Neuroimaging Centre, fMRIB, Oxford, UK
- Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Nicole R. Compo
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
- Comparative Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Samuel Bauman
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
| | | | - Melween I. Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
| | - J. H. Pate Skene
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Julie E. Horvath
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | | | - James P. Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, NYCEP, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Michael J. Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Marketing Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Integrative Neuroimaging Centre, Oxford, UK
- Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, Inserm, Université Lyon 1, Bron U1208, France
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
O’Hearn WJ, Ruiz-Lambides A, Platt ML, Brent LJN. No evidence that grooming is exchanged for coalitionary support in the short- or long-term via direct or generalized reciprocity in unrelated rhesus macaques. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03160-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Reciprocity is a prominent explanation for cooperation between non-kin. Studies designed to demonstrate reciprocity often focus on direct reciprocity in the timescale of minutes to hours, whereas alternative mechanisms like generalized reciprocity and the possibility of reciprocation over longer timescales of months and years are less often explored. Using a playback experiment, we tested for evidence of direct and generalized reciprocity across short and longer timescales. We examined the exchange of grooming for coalitionary support between unrelated female rhesus macaques in a population with a complete genetic pedigree. Females that received grooming were not more responsive to calls for coalitionary support from unrelated female group mates compared to control females that received agonism or no interaction — even when the call belonged to a females’ most recent grooming partner. Similarly, females were not more responsive to calls for support from their most frequent unrelated grooming partner of the last two years, nor if they received large amounts of grooming from all other females in their group. We interpret these results as an absence of evidence for direct or generalized reciprocity on any timescale in the exchange of grooming for coalitionary support in rhesus macaques. If grooming is exchanged for support in this population, it is with an intensity below our ability to detect it or over a longer timescale than we examined. We propose by-product explanations may also be at play and highlight the importance of investigating multiple mechanisms when testing apparently cooperative behaviors.
Significance statement
The receipt of help can make some animals more likely to provide help in return, whether it be a singular act, or many acts accumulated over months. Similarly, the receipt of help, be it one act of aid, or a group’s worth of help over time, can make some animals more likely to pay help forward to others. Studies on Old World monkeys suggest females may give grooming and in return receive aid in future physical conflicts. Using a playback experiment, we found female rhesus macaques were not more responsive to calls for intervention in a simulated conflict after being groomed by unrelated females, even if the calling combatant was her most recent, or a long-time grooming partner. Our results suggest females in our study population may be receiving benefits other than support in conflicts for the grooming they provide.
Collapse
|
24
|
Abstract
Social interactions help group-living organisms cope with socio-environmental challenges and are central to survival and reproductive success. Recent research has shown that social behaviour and relationships can change across the lifespan, a phenomenon referred to as 'social ageing'. Given the importance of social integration for health and well-being, age-dependent changes in social behaviour can modulate how fitness changes with age and may be an important source of unexplained variation in individual patterns of senescence. However, integrating social behaviour into ageing research requires a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of age-based changes in social behaviour. Here, we provide an overview of the drivers of late-life changes in sociality. We suggest that explanations for social ageing can be categorized into three groups: changes in sociality that (a) occur as a result of senescence; (b) result from adaptations to ameliorate the negative effects of senescence; and/or (c) result from positive effects of age and demographic changes. Quantifying the relative contribution of these processes to late-life changes in sociality will allow us to move towards a more holistic understanding of how and why these patterns emerge and will provide important insights into the potential for social ageing to delay or accelerate other patterns of senescence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erin R Siracusa
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Allen CRB, Croft DP, Brent LJN. Reduced older male presence linked to increased rates of aggression to non-conspecific targets in male elephants. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211374. [PMID: 34933598 PMCID: PMC8692974 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Males in many large mammal species spend a considerable portion of their lives in all-male groups segregated from females. In long-lived species, these all-male groups may contain individuals of vastly different ages, providing the possibility that behaviours such as aggression vary with the age demographic of the social environment, as well as an individual's own age. Here, we explore social factors affecting aggression and fear behaviours in non-musth male African elephants (Loxodonta africana) aggregating in an all-male area. Adolescent males had greater probabilities of directing aggressive and fearful behaviours to non-elephant targets when alone compared to when with other males. All males, regardless of age, were less aggressive towards non-elephant targets (e.g. vehicles and non-elephant animals) when larger numbers of males from the oldest age cohort were present. The presence of older males did not influence the probability that other males were aggressive to conspecifics or expressed fearful behaviours towards non-elephant targets. Older bulls may police aggression directed towards non-elephant targets or may lower elephants' perception of their current threat level. Our results suggest male elephants may pose an enhanced threat to humans and livestock when adolescents are socially isolated, and when fewer older bulls are nearby.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Connie R. B. Allen
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK,Elephants for Africa, 5 Balfour Road, London N5 2HB, UK,School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Darren P. Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Pavez-Fox MA, Negron-Del Valle JE, Thompson IJ, Walker CS, Bauman SE, Gonzalez O, Compo N, Ruiz-Lambides A, Martinez MI, Platt ML, Montague MJ, Higham JP, Snyder-Mackler N, Brent LJN. Sociality predicts individual variation in the immunity of free-ranging rhesus macaques. Physiol Behav 2021; 241:113560. [PMID: 34454245 PMCID: PMC8605072 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Social integration and social status can substantially affect an individual’s health and survival. One route through which this occurs is by altering immune function, which can be highly sensitive to changes in the social environment. However, we currently have limited understanding of how sociality influences markers of immunity in naturalistic populations where social dynamics can be fully realized. To address this gap, we asked if social integration and social status in free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) predict anatomical and physiological markers of immunity. We used data on agonistic interactions to determine social status, and social network analysis of grooming interactions to generate measures of individual variation in social integration. As measures of immunity, we included the size of two of the major organs involved in the immune response, the spleen and liver, and counts of three types of blood cells (red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells). Controlling for body mass and age, we found that neither social status nor social integration predicted the size of anatomical markers of immunity. However, individuals that were more socially connected, i.e., with more grooming partners, had lower numbers of white blood cells than their socially isolated counterparts, indicating lower levels of inflammation with increasing levels of integration. These results build upon and extend our knowledge of the relationship between sociality and the immune system in humans and captive animals to free-ranging primates, demonstrating generalizability of the beneficial role of social integration on health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melissa A Pavez-Fox
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Indya J Thompson
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, NC, United States
| | - Christopher S Walker
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, NC, United States
| | - Samuel E Bauman
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
| | - Olga Gonzalez
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute, TX, United States
| | | | | | - Melween I Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA, United States; Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, PA, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, PA, United States; Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania , PA, United States
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, PA, United States
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, NY, United States
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, AZ, United States; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, AZ, United States
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan D. A. Hart
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour University of Exeter Exeter UK
| | - Daniel W. Franks
- Departments of Biology and Computer Science University of York York UK
| | | | - Michael N. Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour University of Exeter Exeter UK
- Center for Whale Research Friday Harbour WA USA
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Allen CRB, Croft DP, Testard C, Brent LJN. Function of Trunk-Mediated "Greeting" Behaviours between Male African Elephants: Insights from Choice of Partners. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:2718. [PMID: 34573684 PMCID: PMC8467434 DOI: 10.3390/ani11092718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
A common behavioural interaction between male African elephants is for an actor to direct his trunk to contact a same sex conspecific's mouth, temporal gland, or genital region. Such behaviours are often referred to as "greetings". Along with its inherent tactile element, these behaviours also likely provide olfactory information to actors concerning aspects of the target's phenotype, including sexual status, feeding history, individual identity, and emotional state. Here, we explore whether the age and novelty of potential interactors affect the choice of individuals targeted by male African elephants for these trunks to scent emitting organ (SEO) behaviours at social hotspots in a male-dominated area. Male elephants of all ages, except older adolescents aged 16-20 years, preferentially targeted elephants of the same age class for trunk-to-SEO behaviours. Elephants younger than 26 years did not direct trunk-to-SEO behaviours to mature bulls (26+ years) more than expected by chance, suggesting these behaviours are not primarily used for younger males to establish contact with, or obtain information from or about older, more experienced individuals. We also found no evidence that males directed these behaviours preferentially to new individuals they encountered at male aggregations (compared to those they arrived in groups with), suggesting these behaviours are not primarily employed by males as a reunion display to establish relationships between new individuals or update relationships between familiar individuals separated over time. Age-mates may be preferentially targeted with these behaviours as a means to facilitate further interaction with partners (e.g., for sparring activity), or as a safe way to assess relative dominance rank in similarly aged and hence, size and strength, matched dyads. Our results suggest male African elephants use close contact trunk-to-SEO behaviours continuously over time, to facilitate positive relationships, test willingness to interact, and assess aspects of phenotype, between males occupying the same ecological space.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Connie R. B. Allen
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK; (D.P.C.); (L.J.N.B.)
- Elephants for Africa, 5 Balfour Road, London N5 2HB, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Darren P. Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK; (D.P.C.); (L.J.N.B.)
| | - Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK; (D.P.C.); (L.J.N.B.)
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Crisp RJ, Brent LJN, Carter GG. Social dominance and cooperation in female vampire bats. R Soc Open Sci 2021; 8:210266. [PMID: 34295524 PMCID: PMC8261227 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
When group-living animals develop individualized social relationships, they often regulate cooperation and conflict through a dominance hierarchy. Female common vampire bats have been an experimental system for studying cooperative relationships, yet surprisingly little is known about female conflict. Here, we recorded the outcomes of 1023 competitive interactions over food provided ad libitum in a captive colony of 33 vampire bats (24 adult females and their young). We found a weakly linear dominance hierarchy using three common metrics (Landau's h' measure of linearity, triangle transitivity and directional consistency). However, patterns of female dominance were less structured than in many other group-living mammals. Female social rank was not clearly predicted by body size, age, nor reproductive status, and competitive interactions were not correlated with kinship, grooming nor food sharing. We therefore found no evidence that females groomed or shared food up a hierarchy or that differences in rank explained asymmetries in grooming or food sharing. A possible explanation for such apparently egalitarian relationships among female vampire bats is the scale of competition. Female vampire bats that are frequent roostmates might not often directly compete for food in the wild.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel J. Crisp
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Gerald G. Carter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Testard C, Larson SM, Watowich MM, Kaplinsky CH, Bernau A, Faulder M, Marshall HH, Lehmann J, Ruiz-Lambides A, Higham JP, Montague MJ, Snyder-Mackler N, Platt ML, Brent LJN. Rhesus macaques build new social connections after a natural disaster. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2299-2309.e7. [PMID: 33836140 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts. Understanding resilience and vulnerability to these intense stressors and their aftermath could reveal adaptations to extreme environmental change. In 2017, Puerto Rico suffered its worst natural disaster, Hurricane Maria, which left 3,000 dead and provoked a mental health crisis. Cayo Santiago island, home to a population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), was devastated by the same storm. We compared social networks of two groups of macaques before and after the hurricane and found an increase in affiliative social connections, driven largely by monkeys most socially isolated before Hurricane Maria. Further analysis revealed monkeys invested in building new relationships rather than strengthening existing ones. Social adaptations to environmental instability might predispose rhesus macaques to success in rapidly changing anthropogenic environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Camille Testard
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Sam M Larson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - Cassandre H Kaplinsky
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Interdisciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, Roehampton, UK
| | - Antonia Bernau
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Matthew Faulder
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Harry H Marshall
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Julia Lehmann
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Carribean Primate Research Center-Cayo Santiago, University of Puerto Rico, Cayo Santiago Island, Puerto Rico
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Weiss MN, Franks DW, Brent LJN, Ellis S, Silk MJ, Croft DP. Common datastream permutations of animal social network data are not appropriate for hypothesis testing using regression models. Methods Ecol Evol 2020; 12:255-265. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael N. Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK
- Center for Whale Research Friday Harbor WA USA
| | - Daniel W. Franks
- Department of Biology and Department of Computer Science The University of York York UK
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK
| | - Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK
| | - Matthew J. Silk
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter in Cornwall Penryn UK
| | - Darren P. Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Exeter UK
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Chiou KL, Montague MJ, Goldman EA, Watowich MM, Sams SN, Song J, Horvath JE, Sterner KN, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Martínez MI, Higham JP, Brent LJN, Platt ML, Snyder-Mackler N. Rhesus macaques as a tractable physiological model of human ageing. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190612. [PMID: 32951555 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Research in the basic biology of ageing is increasingly identifying mechanisms and modifiers of ageing in short-lived organisms such as worms and mice. The ultimate goal of such work is to improve human health, particularly in the growing segment of the population surviving into old age. Thus far, few interventions have robustly transcended species boundaries in the laboratory, suggesting that changes in approach are needed to avoid costly failures in translational human research. In this review, we discuss both well-established and alternative model organisms for ageing research and outline how research in nonhuman primates is sorely needed, first, to translate findings from short-lived organisms to humans, and second, to understand key aspects of ageing that are unique to primate biology. We focus on rhesus macaques as a particularly promising model organism for ageing research owing to their social and physiological similarity to humans as well as the existence of key resources that have been developed for this species. As a case study, we compare gene regulatory signatures of ageing in the peripheral immune system between humans and rhesus macaques from a free-ranging study population in Cayo Santiago. We show that both mRNA expression and DNA methylation signatures of immune ageing are broadly shared between macaques and humans, indicating strong conservation of the trajectory of ageing in the immune system. We conclude with a review of key issues in the biology of ageing for which macaques and other nonhuman primates may uniquely contribute valuable insights, including the effects of social gradients on health and ageing. We anticipate that continuing research in rhesus macaques and other nonhuman primates will play a critical role in conjunction with the model organism and human biodemographic research in ultimately improving translational outcomes and extending health and longevity in our ageing population. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth L Chiou
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Department of Pathology, Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | | | - Marina M Watowich
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Sierra N Sams
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jeff Song
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA
| | - Julie E Horvath
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA.,Research and Collections Section, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Kirstin N Sterner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Angelina V Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936, USA
| | - Melween I Martínez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, Unit of Comparative Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936, USA
| | - James P Higham
- Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Marketing, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Department of Pathology, Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Allen CRB, Brent LJN, Motsentwa T, Weiss MN, Croft DP. Importance of old bulls: leaders and followers in collective movements of all-male groups in African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana). Sci Rep 2020; 10:13996. [PMID: 32883968 PMCID: PMC7471917 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70682-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In long-lived social species, older individuals can provide fitness benefits to their groupmates through the imparting of ecological knowledge. Research in this area has largely focused on females in matrilineal societies where, for example, older female African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) are most effective at making decisions crucial to herd survival, and old post-reproductive female resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) lead collective movements in hunting grounds. In contrast, little is known about the role of older males as leaders in long-lived social species. By analysing leadership patterns of all-male African savannah elephant traveling groups along elephant pathways in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana, we found that the oldest males were more likely to lead collective movements. Our results challenge the assumption that older male elephants are redundant in the population and raise concerns over the biased removal of old bulls that currently occurs in both legal trophy hunting and illegal poaching. Selective harvesting of older males could have detrimental effects on the wider elephant society through loss of leaders crucial to younger male navigation in unknown, risky environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Connie R B Allen
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK.
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Thatayaone Motsentwa
- Elephants for Africa, 5 Balfour Road, London, N5 2HB, UK.,Elephants for Africa, Mailbox 148 HAK, Maun, Botswana
| | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Morrison RE, Eckardt W, Stoinski TS, Brent LJN. Comparing measures of social complexity: larger mountain gorilla groups do not have a greater diversity of relationships. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201026. [PMID: 33043865 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social complexity reflects the intricate patterns of social interactions in societies. Understanding social complexity is fundamental for studying the evolution of diverse social systems and the cognitive innovations used to cope with the demands of social life. Social complexity has been predominantly quantified by social unit size, but newer measures of social complexity reflect the diversity of relationships. However, the association between these two sets of measures remains unclear. We used 12 years of data on 13 gorilla groups to investigate how measures of social complexity relate to each other. We found that group size was a poor proxy for relationship diversity and that the social complexity individuals experienced within the same group varied greatly. Our findings demonstrate two fundamental takeaways: first, that the number of relationships and the diversity of those relationships represent separate components of social complexity, both of which should be accounted for; and second, that social complexity measured at the group level may not represent the social complexity experienced by individuals in those groups. These findings suggest that comprehensive studies of social complexity, particularly those relating to the social demands faced by individuals, may require fine-scale social data to allow accurate comparisons across populations and species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robin E Morrison
- The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Musanze, Rwanda.,Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, UK
| | | | | | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, UK
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Kimock CM, Dubuc C, Brent LJN, Higham JP. Male morphological traits are heritable but do not predict reproductive success in a sexually-dimorphic primate. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19794. [PMID: 31874959 PMCID: PMC6930303 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52633-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection favours traits that increase reproductive success via increased competitive ability, attractiveness, or both. Male rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) morphological traits are likely to reflect the effects of multiple sexual selection pressures. Here, we use a quantitative genetic approach to investigate the production and maintenance of variation in male rhesus macaque morphometric traits which may be subject to sexual selection. We collected measurements of body size, canine length, and fat, from 125 male and 21 female free-ranging rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago. We also collected testis volumes from males. We used a genetic pedigree to calculate trait heritability, to investigate potential trait trade-offs, and to estimate selection gradients. We found that variation in most male morphometric traits was heritable, but found no evidence of trait trade-offs nor that traits predicted reproductive success. Our results suggest that male rhesus macaque morphometric traits are either not under selection, or are under mechanisms of sexual selection that we could not test (e.g. balancing selection). In species subject to complex interacting mechanisms of selection, measures of body size, weaponry, and testis volume may not increase reproductive success via easily-testable mechanisms such as linear directional selection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Clare M Kimock
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Constance Dubuc
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Center for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - James P Higham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Ellis S, Snyder-Mackler N, Ruiz-Lambides A, Platt ML, Brent LJN. Deconstructing sociality: the types of social connections that predict longevity in a group-living primate. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191991. [PMID: 31822256 PMCID: PMC6939919 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species use social interactions to cope with challenges in their environment and a growing number of studies show that individuals which are well-connected to their group have higher fitness than socially isolated individuals. However, there are many ways to be 'well-connected' and it is unclear which aspects of sociality drive fitness benefits. Being well-connected can be conceptualized in four main ways: individuals can be socially integrated by engaging in a high rate of social behaviour or having many partners; they can have strong and stable connections to favoured partners; they can indirectly connect to the broader group structure; or directly engage in a high rate of beneficial behaviours, such as grooming. In this study, we use survival models and long-term data in adult female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to compare the fitness outcomes of multiple measures of social connectedness. Females that maintained strong connections to favoured partners had the highest relative survival probability, as did females well-integrated owing to forming many weak connections. We found no survival benefits to being structurally well-connected or engaging in high rates of grooming. Being well-connected to favoured partners could provide fitness benefits by, for example, increasing the efficacy of coordinated or mutualistic behaviours.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Marketing, University of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Madlon-Kay S, Montague MJ, Brent LJN, Ellis S, Zhong B, Snyder-Mackler N, Horvath JE, Skene JHP, Platt ML. Weak effects of common genetic variation in oxytocin and vasopressin receptor genes on rhesus macaque social behavior. Am J Primatol 2018; 80:e22873. [PMID: 29931777 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Revised: 04/01/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The neuropeptides oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) influence pair bonding, attachment, and sociality, as well as anxiety and stress responses in humans and other mammals. The effects of these peptides are mediated by genetic variability in their associated receptors, OXTR and the AVPR gene family. However, the role of these genes in regulating social behaviors in non-human primates is not well understood. To address this question, we examined whether genetic variation in the OT receptor gene OXTR and the AVP receptor genes AVPR1A and AVPR1B influence naturally-occurring social behavior in free-ranging rhesus macaques-gregarious primates that share many features of their biology and social behavior with humans. We assessed rates of social behavior across 3,250 hr of observational behavioral data from 201 free-ranging rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago island in Puerto Rico, and used genetic sequence data to identify 25 OXTR, AVPR1A, and AVPR1B single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the population. We used an animal model to estimate the effects of 12 SNVs (n = 3 OXTR; n = 5 AVPR1A; n = 4 AVPR1B) on rates of grooming, approaches, passive contact, contact aggression, and non-contact aggression, given and received. Though we found evidence for modest heritability of these behaviors, estimates of effect sizes of the selected SNVs were close to zero, indicating that common OXTR and AVPR variation contributed little to social behavior in these animals. Our results are consistent with recent findings in human genetics that the effects of individual common genetic variants on complex phenotypes are generally small.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seth Madlon-Kay
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Michael J Montague
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon
| | - Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon
| | - Brian Zhong
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.,Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.,Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Julie E Horvath
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina Central University, Durham, North Carolina.,North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | - Michael L Platt
- Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.,Department of Marketing, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Firth JA, Sheldon BC, Brent LJN. Indirectly connected: simple social differences can explain the causes and apparent consequences of complex social network positions. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1939. [PMID: 29142116 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal societies are often structurally complex. How individuals are positioned within the wider social network (i.e. their indirect social connections) has been shown to be repeatable, heritable and related to key life-history variables. Yet, there remains a general lack of understanding surrounding how complex network positions arise, whether they indicate active multifaceted social decisions by individuals, and how natural selection could act on this variation. We use simulations to assess how variation in simple social association rules between individuals can determine their positions within emerging social networks. Our results show that metrics of individuals' indirect connections can be more strongly related to underlying simple social differences than metrics of their dyadic connections. External influences causing network noise (typical of animal social networks) generally inflated these differences. The findings demonstrate that relationships between complex network positions and other behaviours or fitness components do not provide sufficient evidence for the presence, or importance, of complex social behaviours, even if direct network metrics provide less explanatory power than indirect ones. Interestingly however, a plausible and straightforward heritable basis for complex network positions can arise from simple social differences, which in turn creates potential for selection to act on indirect connections.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Josh A Firth
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK .,Merton College, Merton Street, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 4JD
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Brent LJN, Ruiz-Lambides A, Platt ML. Family network size and survival across the lifespan of female macaques. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0515. [PMID: 28515205 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Two decades of research suggest social relationships have a common evolutionary basis in humans and other gregarious mammals. Critical to the support of this idea is growing evidence that mortality is influenced by social integration, but when these effects emerge and how long they last is mostly unknown. Here, we report in adult female macaques that the impact of number of close adult female relatives, a proxy for social integration, on survival is not experienced uniformly across the life course; prime-aged females with a greater number of relatives had better survival outcomes compared with prime-aged females with fewer relatives, whereas no such effect was found in older females. Group size and dominance rank did not influence this result. Older females were less frequent targets of aggression, suggesting enhanced experience navigating the social landscape may obviate the need for social relationships in old age. Only one study of humans has found age-based dependency in the association between social integration and survival. Using the largest dataset for any non-human animal to date, our study extends support for the idea that sociality promotes survival and suggests strategies employed across the life course change along with experience of the social world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - A Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico, USA
| | - M L Platt
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Brent LJN, Ruiz-Lambides A, Platt ML. Persistent social isolation reflects identity and social context but not maternal effects or early environment. Sci Rep 2017; 7:17791. [PMID: 29259240 PMCID: PMC5736592 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18104-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals who are well integrated into society have greater access to resources and tend to live longer. Why some individuals are socially isolated and others are not is therefore puzzling from an evolutionary perspective. Answering this question requires establishing the mix of intrinsic and contextual factors that contribute to social isolation. Using social network data spanning up to half of the median adult lifespan in a gregarious primate, we found that some measures of social isolation were modestly repeatable within individuals, consistent with a trait. By contrast, social isolation was not explained by the identity of an animal’s mother or the group into which it was born. Nevertheless, age, sex and social status each played a role, as did kin dynamics and familiarity. Females with fewer close relatives were more isolated, and the more time males spent in a new group the less isolated they became, independent of their social status. These results show that social isolation results from a combination of intrinsic and environmental factors. From an evolutionary perspective, these findings suggest that social isolation could be adaptive in some contexts and partly maintained by selection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L J N Brent
- School of Psychology, Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | - A Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - M L Platt
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Lacy RC, Williams R, Ashe E, Balcomb Iii KC, Brent LJN, Clark CW, Croft DP, Giles DA, MacDuffee M, Paquet PC. Evaluating anthropogenic threats to endangered killer whales to inform effective recovery plans. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14119. [PMID: 29074942 PMCID: PMC5658391 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14471-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding cumulative effects of multiple threats is key to guiding effective management to conserve endangered species. The critically endangered, Southern Resident killer whale population of the northeastern Pacific Ocean provides a data-rich case to explore anthropogenic threats on population viability. Primary threats include: limitation of preferred prey, Chinook salmon; anthropogenic noise and disturbance, which reduce foraging efficiency; and high levels of stored contaminants, including PCBs. We constructed a population viability analysis to explore possible demographic trajectories and the relative importance of anthropogenic stressors. The population is fragile, with no growth projected under current conditions, and decline expected if new or increased threats are imposed. Improvements in fecundity and calf survival are needed to reach a conservation objective of 2.3% annual population growth. Prey limitation is the most important factor affecting population growth. However, to meet recovery targets through prey management alone, Chinook abundance would have to be sustained near the highest levels since the 1970s. The most optimistic mitigation of noise and contaminants would make the difference between a declining and increasing population, but would be insufficient to reach recovery targets. Reducing acoustic disturbance by 50% combined with increasing Chinook by 15% would allow the population to reach 2.3% growth.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert C Lacy
- Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA.
| | | | - Erin Ashe
- Oceans Initiative, Seattle, WA 98102, USA
| | | | - Lauren J N Brent
- College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QG, UK
| | | | - Darren P Croft
- College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QG, UK
| | | | - Misty MacDuffee
- Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sidney, BC V8L 3Y3, Canada
| | - Paul C Paquet
- Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sidney, BC V8L 3Y3, Canada.,University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Croft DP, Johnstone RA, Ellis S, Nattrass S, Franks DW, Brent LJN, Mazzi S, Balcomb KC, Ford JKB, Cant MA. Reproductive Conflict and the Evolution of Menopause in Killer Whales. Curr Biol 2017; 27:298-304. [PMID: 28089514 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 11/11/2016] [Accepted: 12/07/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Why females of some species cease ovulation prior to the end of their natural lifespan is a long-standing evolutionary puzzle [1-4]. The fitness benefits of post-reproductive helping could in principle select for menopause [1, 2, 5], but the magnitude of these benefits appears insufficient to explain the timing of menopause [6-8]. Recent theory suggests that the cost of inter-generational reproductive conflict between younger and older females of the same social unit is a critical missing term in classical inclusive fitness calculations (the "reproductive conflict hypothesis" [6, 9]). Using a unique long-term dataset on wild resident killer whales, where females can live decades after their final parturition, we provide the first test of this hypothesis in a non-human animal. First, we confirm previous theoretical predictions that local relatedness increases with female age up to the end of reproduction. Second, we construct a new evolutionary model and show that given these kinship dynamics, selection will favor younger females that invest more in competition, and thus have greater reproductive success, than older females (their mothers) when breeding at the same time. Third, we test this prediction using 43 years of individual-based demographic data in resident killer whales and show that when mothers and daughters co-breed, the mortality hazard of calves from older-generation females is 1.7 times that of calves from younger-generation females. Intergenerational conflict combined with the known benefits conveyed to kin by post-reproductive females can explain why killer whales have evolved the longest post-reproductive lifespan of all non-human animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK.
| | - Rufus A Johnstone
- Behaviour and Evolution Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Stuart Nattrass
- York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis, University of York, York YO10 5GE, UK
| | - Daniel W Franks
- York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis, University of York, York YO10 5GE, UK
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
| | - Sonia Mazzi
- Department of Mathematics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Kenneth C Balcomb
- Center for Whale Research, 355 Smugglers Cove Road, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, USA
| | - John K B Ford
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, BC V9T 6N7, Canada
| | - Michael A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Dubuc C, Winters S, Allen WL, Brent LJN, Cascio J, Maestripieri D, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Widdig A, Higham JP. Sexually selected skin colour is heritable and related to fecundity in a non-human primate. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20141602. [PMID: 25253459 PMCID: PMC4211451 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2014] [Accepted: 08/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection promotes the prevalence of heritable traits that increase an individual's reproductive rate. Despite theoretically strong directional selection, sexually selected traits can show inter-individual variation. Here, we investigate whether red skin ornamentation, a rare example of a male mammalian trait involved in mate attraction, influences fecundity and is heritable in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), and explore the mechanisms that are involved in maintaining trait variation. Interestingly, the trait is expressed by and is attractive to both sexes. We collected facial images of 266 free-ranging individuals and modelled skin redness and darkness to rhesus macaque vision. We used 20 years of genetic parentage data to calculate selection gradients on the trait and perform heritability analyses. Results show that males who were both darkly coloured and high-ranking enjoyed higher fecundity. Female skin redness was positively linked to fecundity, although it remains unclear whether this influences male selectiveness. Heritability explained 10-15% of the variation in redness and darkness, and up to 30% for skin darkness when sexes are considered separately, suggesting sex-influenced inheritance. Our results suggest that inter-individual variation is maintained through condition-dependence, with an added effect of balancing selection on male skin darkness, providing rare evidence for a mammalian trait selected through inter-sexual selection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Constance Dubuc
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Sandra Winters
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - William L Allen
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, 450 Research Drive, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Julie Cascio
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Dario Maestripieri
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Angelina V Ruiz-Lambides
- Cayo Santiago, Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, PO Box 906, Punta Santiago, PR 00741, USA Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Anja Widdig
- Junior Research Group of Primate Kin Selection, Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 33, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - James P Higham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Brent LJN, Semple S, MacLarnon A, Ruiz-Lambides A, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Platt ML. Personality Traits in Rhesus Macaques ( Macaca mulatta) Are Heritable but Do Not Predict Reproductive Output. INT J PRIMATOL 2014; 35:188-209. [PMID: 24659840 PMCID: PMC3960078 DOI: 10.1007/s10764-013-9724-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
There is growing evidence that behavioral tendencies, or "personalities," in animals are an important aspect of their biology, yet their evolutionary basis is poorly understood. Specifically, how individual variation in personality arises and is subsequently maintained by selection remains unclear. To address this gap, studies of personality require explicit incorporation of genetic information. Here, we explored the genetic basis of personality in rhesus macaques by determining the heritability of personality components and by examining the fitness consequences of those components. We collected observational data for 108 adult females living in three social groups in a free-ranging population via focal animal sampling. We applied principal component analysis to nine spontaneously occurring behaviors and identified six putative personality components, which we named Meek, Bold, Aggressive, Passive, Loner, and Nervous. All components were repeatable and heritable, with heritability estimates ranging from 0.14 to 0.35. We found no evidence of an association with reproductive output, measured either by infant survival or by interbirth interval, for any of the personality components. This finding suggests either that personality does not have fitness-related consequences in this population or that selection has acted to reduce fitness-associated variation in personality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J. N. Brent
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; and Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, U.K
| | - Stuart Semple
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, U.K
| | - Ann MacLarnon
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, U.K
| | - Angelina Ruiz-Lambides
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, Punta Santiago, PR
| | - Janis Gonzalez-Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, Punta Santiago, PR
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience; and Departments of Neurobiology, Evolutionary Anthropology, and Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Abstract
Increasingly, behavioral ecologists have applied quantitative genetic methods to investigate the evolution of behaviors in wild animal populations. The promise of quantitative genetics in unmanaged populations opens the door for simultaneous analysis of inheritance, phenotypic plasticity, and patterns of selection on behavioral phenotypes all within the same study. In this article, we describe how quantitative genetic techniques provide studies of the evolution of behavior with information that is unique and valuable. We outline technical obstacles for applying quantitative genetic techniques that are of particular relevance to studies of behavior in primates, especially those living in noncaptive populations, e.g., the need for pedigree information, non-Gaussian phenotypes, and demonstrate how many of these barriers are now surmountable. We illustrate this by applying recent quantitative genetic methods to spatial proximity data, a simple and widely collected primate social behavior, from adult rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago. Our analysis shows that proximity measures are consistent across repeated measurements on individuals (repeatable) and that kin have similar mean measurements (heritable). Quantitative genetics may hold lessons of considerable importance for studies of primate behavior, even those without a specific genetic focus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Duke Institute of Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Abstract
Friendship pervades the human social landscape. These bonds are so important that disrupting them leads to health problems, and difficulties forming or maintaining friendships attend neuropsychiatric disorders like autism and depression. Other animals also have friends, suggesting that friendship is not solely a human invention but is instead an evolved trait. A neuroethological approach applies behavioral, neurobiological, and molecular techniques to explain friendship with reference to its underlying mechanisms, development, evolutionary origins, and biological function. Recent studies implicate a shared suite of neural circuits and neuromodulatory pathways in the formation, maintenance, and manipulation of friendships across humans and other animals. Health consequences and reproductive advantages in mammals additionally suggest that friendship has adaptive benefits. We argue that understanding the neuroethology of friendship in humans and other animals brings us closer to knowing fully what it means to be human.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J N Brent
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
47
|
Dobson SD, Brent LJN. On the evolution of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in primates. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:588. [PMID: 24312034 PMCID: PMC3832783 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2013] [Accepted: 10/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Some allelic variants of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) result in lower levels of expression of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4). These low-expressing (LE) alleles are associated with mental-health disorders in a minority of humans that carry them. Humans are not the only primates that exhibit this polymorphism; other species, including some monkeys, also have LE and high-expressing (HE) variants of 5-HTTLPR. We propose a behavioral genetic framework to explain the adaptive evolution of this polymorphism in primates, including humans. We hypothesize that both LE and HE alleles are maintained by balancing selection in species characterized by short-term fluctuations in social competition levels. More specifically, we propose that LE carriers benefit from their hypervigilant tendencies during periods of elevated competition, whereas HE homozygotes cope best when competition levels do not deviate from the norm. Thus, both alleles have long-term benefits when competition levels tend to vary substantially over relatively short timescales within a social group. We describe this hypothesis in detail and outline a series of predictions to test it. Some of these predictions are supported by findings in the current literature, while others remain areas of future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seth D Dobson
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College Hanover, NH, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Abstract
A neuroethological approach to human and nonhuman primate behavior and cognition predicts biological specializations for social life. Evidence reviewed here indicates that ancestral mechanisms are often duplicated, repurposed, and differentially regulated to support social behavior. Focusing on recent research from nonhuman primates, we describe how the primate brain might implement social functions by coopting and extending preexisting mechanisms that previously supported nonsocial functions. This approach reveals that highly specialized mechanisms have evolved to decipher the immediate social context, and parallel circuits have evolved to translate social perceptual signals and nonsocial perceptual signals into partially integrated social and nonsocial motivational signals, which together inform general-purpose mechanisms that command behavior. Differences in social behavior between species, as well as between individuals within a species, result in part from neuromodulatory regulation of these neural circuits, which itself appears to be under partial genetic control. Ultimately, intraspecific variation in social behavior has differential fitness consequences, providing fundamental building blocks of natural selection. Our review suggests that the neuroethological approach to primate behavior may provide unique insights into human psychopathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Steve W. C. Chang
- Departments of Neurobiology and
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and
| | - Lauren J. N. Brent
- Departments of Neurobiology and
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and
| | - Geoffrey K. Adams
- Departments of Neurobiology and
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and
| | - Jeffrey T. Klein
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - John M. Pearson
- Departments of Neurobiology and
- Neurosurgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and
| | - Karli K. Watson
- Departments of Neurobiology and
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and
| | - Michael L. Platt
- Departments of Neurobiology and
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and
- Departments of Psychology and Neurosciences and
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708; and
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Brent LJN, Heilbronner SR, Horvath JE, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Ruiz-Lambides A, Robinson AG, Skene JHP, Platt ML. Genetic origins of social networks in rhesus macaques. Sci Rep 2013; 3:1042. [PMID: 23304433 PMCID: PMC3540398 DOI: 10.1038/srep01042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2012] [Accepted: 12/06/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Sociality is believed to have evolved as a strategy for animals to cope with their environments. Yet the genetic basis of sociality remains unclear. Here we provide evidence that social network tendencies are heritable in a gregarious primate. The tendency for rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, to be tied affiliatively to others via connections mediated by their social partners - analogous to friends of friends in people - demonstrated additive genetic variance. Affiliative tendencies were predicted by genetic variation at two loci involved in serotonergic signalling, although this result did not withstand correction for multiple tests. Aggressive tendencies were also heritable and were related to reproductive output, a fitness proxy. Our findings suggest that, like humans, the skills and temperaments that shape the formation of multi-agent relationships have a genetic basis in nonhuman primates, and, as such, begin to fill the gaps in our understanding of the genetic basis of sociality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J N Brent
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Buhl JS, Aure B, Ruiz-Lambides A, Gonzalez-Martinez J, Platt ML, Brent LJN. Response of Rhesus Macaques ( Macaca mulatta) to the Body of a Group Member That Died from a Fatal Attack. INT J PRIMATOL 2012; 33:860-871. [PMID: 23459587 DOI: 10.1007/s10764-012-9624-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Among animals that form social bonds, the death of a conspecific may be a significant social event, representing the loss of an ally and resulting in disruptions to the dominance hierarchy. Despite this potential biological importance, we have only limited knowledge of animals' reactions to the death of a group member. This is particularly true of responses to dead adults, as most reports describe the responses of mothers to dead infants. Here, we describe in detail and provide video evidence of the behavioral responses of a group of free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) immediately after the death of a mid-ranking adult male as a result of a fatal attack. High-ranking male members of the group, suspected to have carried out the attack, dragged and bit the dead body, exhibiting a rate of aggression 20 times greater than baseline levels. Lower-ranking individuals approached and inspected the body by looking closely, smelling, and grooming the fur. There was inconclusive evidence that these rhesus macaques found the death of a conspecific stressful: Levels of grooming between group members after the fatal attack were significantly higher than baseline levels, and higher than levels of grooming after nonfatal attacks. However, when grooming levels were adjusted based on the assumption that individuals positioned close to the body, i.e., those visible to researchers, were more likely to be engaged in grooming than those positioned farther away, this difference from baseline was no longer significant. The rate of self-directed behaviors after the fatal attack was also not different from baseline. Many of the behaviors we observed directed toward the body (aggression, inspection) have been previously reported in chimpanzees and geladas, and are similar to reactions sometimes displayed by humans. As such, this report represents a potentially valuable contribution the nascent field of nonhuman primate thanatology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline S Buhl
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico 00741
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|