Social status drives social relationships in groups of unrelated female rhesus macaques

Better together: The importance of brain health in the relationship between stress regulation, social connection and lifestyle in promoting mental health and well-being

Regulating stress effectively has a profound impact on our well-being and is known to be significantly interrelated to our social connections, as well as healthy lifestyle behaviors. However, the complex mechanisms through which these components are associated with maintaining well-being remain enigmatic. We propose a theoretical interrelated framework for which the maintenance of brain health assumes a central role. This involves the adaptive functionality of neural circuits associated with regulating emotions, self-control, and the ability to derive pleasure from rewards or enjoyable experiences. As a result, based on brain health as a central condition, we explore how different dimensions of social connections directly impact stress regulation, or indirectly through brain health. Furthermore, we delve into how lifestyle choices indirectly affect stress regulation, mediated by their impact on brain health. Reciprocally, our lifestyle choices are wired by our social connections, reinforcing the significant role of brain health. In the context of this conceptual framework, it is emphasized that psychotherapeutic interventions need to expand beyond the sole concentration on psychological processes. It is imperative to focus on interconnected biopsychosocial components known to positively enhance brain health, and hence to enhance the capacity of psychotherapy to significantly amplify mental health and well-being.

Differential effects of multiplex and uniplex affiliative relationships on biomarkers of inflammation

Social relationships profoundly impact health in social species. Much of what we know regarding the impact of affiliative social relationships on health in nonhuman primates (NHPs) has focused on the structure of connections or the quality of relationships. These relationships are often quantified by comparing different types of affiliative behaviors (e.g., contact sitting, grooming, proximity) or pooling affiliative behaviors into an overall measure of affiliation. However, it is unclear how the breadth of affiliative behaviors (e.g., how many different types or which ones) a dyad engages in impact health and fitness outcomes. We used a novel social network approach to quantify the breadth of affiliative relationships based on two behaviors: grooming and sitting in contact. Dyadic relationships were filtered into separate networks depending on whether the pair engaged in multiple affiliative behaviors (multiplex networks) or just one (uniplex networks). Typically, in social network analysis, the edges in the network represent the presence of a single behavior (e.g., grooming) regardless of the presence or absence of other behaviors (e.g., contact sitting, proximity). Therefore, to validate this method, we first compared the overall structure of the standard network for each affiliative behavior: all grooming interactions regardless of contact sitting, and all contact sitting interactions regardless of grooming. We then similarly compared the structure of our filtered multiplex vs. uniplex networks. Results indicated that multiplex networks were more modular, reciprocal, and kin-based while connections in uniplex networks were more strongly associated with social status. These differences were not replicated when comparing networks based on a single behavior alone (i.e., all grooming networks vs. all contact sitting networks). Next, we evaluated whether individual network position in multiplex vs. uniplex (novel approach) or grooming vs. contact sitting (traditional approach) networks differentially impact inflammatory biomarkers in a commonly studied non-human primate model system, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). Being well connected in multiplex networks (networks where individuals both contact sat and groomed) was associated with lower inflammation (IL-6, TNF-alpha). In contrast, being well connected in uniplex grooming networks (dyad engaged only in grooming and not in contact sitting) was associated with greater inflammation. Altogether, these results suggest that multiplex relationships may function as supportive relationships (e.g., those between kin or strong bonds) that promote health. In contrast, the function of uniplex grooming relationships may be more transactional (e.g., based on social tolerance or social status) and may incur physiological costs. This complexity is important to consider for understanding the mechanisms underlying the association of social relationships on human and animal health.

Selective social tolerance drives differentiated relationships among wild female chimpanzees

Strong, affiliative bonds often function to facilitate social competition through cooperative defence of resources, but the benefits of social bonds may be low when direct competition is less intense or less beneficial. In such cases, one possible outcome is that relationships are weak and undifferentiated. Alternatively, negotiating stable, selectively tolerant relationships may be a strategy to mitigate the costs and risks of sharing space when direct competition is undesirable. We investigated dyadic social tolerance among wild adult female chimpanzees, who engage in low rates of affiliation and aggression amongst one another. While females associate with one another at different rates, these patterns could reflect shared patterns of behaviour (e.g., ranging) rather than social preference or variation in relationship quality. We first determined whether patterns of dyadic spatial association (five-meter proximity) were differentiated and stable over time. To assess whether dyadic spatial association reflected preference and variation in social tolerance, we tested whether spatial association was actively maintained by waiting and following behaviour, and associated with decreased aggression and increased cofeeding. Spatial associations were differentiated, and stronger associations were more stable. Frequent associates used following and waiting behaviour to actively maintain associations. Association positively predicted time cofeeding and negatively predicted aggression. These patterns were true among related and unrelated dyads. Among unrelated females, dyads with stronger associations maintained proximity more mutually. This study highlights social tolerance as a stable relationship attribute that can predict and explain patterns of behaviour and social network structure, distinct from, or in the absence of, affiliation.

Social niche shapes social behavior and cortisol concentrations during adolescence in female guinea pigs

Individualized social niches arise in social groups, resulting in divergent social behavior profiles among group members. During sensitive life phases, the individualized social niche can profoundly impact the development of social behavior and associated phenotypes such as hormone (e.g. cortisol) concentrations. Focusing on adolescence, we investigated the relationship between the individualized social niche, social behavior, and cortisol concentrations (baseline and responsiveness) in female guinea pigs. Females were pair-housed in early adolescence (initial social pair formation), and a social niche transition was induced after six weeks by replacing the partner with either a larger or smaller female. Regarding social behavior, dominance status was associated with aggression in both the initial social pairs and after the social niche transition, and the results suggest that aggression was rapidly and completely reshaped after the social niche transition. Meanwhile, submissive behavior was rapidly reshaped after the social niche transition, but this was incomplete. The dominance status attained in the initial social pair affected the extent of submissive behavior after the social niche transition, and this effect was still detected three weeks after the social niche transition. Regarding cortisol concentrations, higher baseline cortisol concentrations were measured in dominant females in the initial social pairs. After the social niche transition, cortisol responsiveness significantly increased for the females paired with a larger, older female relative to those paired with a smaller, younger female. These findings demonstrate that the social niche during adolescence plays a significant role in shaping behavior and hormone concentrations in females.

Naturally occurring low sociality in female rhesus monkeys: A tractable model for autism or not?

BACKGROUND

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by persistent social interaction impairments and is male-biased in prevalence. We have established naturally occurring low sociality in male rhesus monkeys as a model for the social features of ASD. Low-social male monkeys exhibit reduced social interactions and increased autistic-like trait burden, with both measures highly correlated and strongly linked to low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) arginine vasopressin (AVP) concentration. Little is known, however, about the behavioral and neurochemical profiles of female rhesus monkeys, and whether low sociality in females is a tractable model for ASD.

METHODS

Social behavior assessments (ethological observations; a reverse-translated autistic trait measurement scale, the macaque Social Responsiveness Scale-Revised [mSRS-R]) were completed on N = 88 outdoor-housed female rhesus monkeys during the non-breeding season. CSF and blood samples were collected from a subset of N = 16 monkeys across the frequency distribution of non-social behavior, and AVP and oxytocin (OXT) concentrations were quantified. Data were analyzed using general linear models.

RESULTS

Non-social behavior frequency and mSRS-R scores were continuously distributed across the general female monkey population, as previously found for male monkeys. However, dominance rank significantly predicted mSRS-R scores in females, with higher-ranking individuals showing fewer autistic-like traits, a relationship not previously observed in males from this colony. Females differed from males in several other respects: Social behavior frequencies were unrelated to mSRS-R scores, and AVP concentration was unrelated to any social behavior measure. Blood and CSF concentrations of AVP were positively correlated in females; no significant relationship involving any OXT measure was found.

LIMITATIONS

This study sample was small, and did not consider genetic, environmental, or other neurochemical measures that may be related to female mSRS-R scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Dominance rank is the most significant predictor of autistic-like traits in female rhesus monkeys, and CSF neuropeptide concentrations are unrelated to measures of female social functioning (in contrast to prior CSF AVP findings in male rhesus monkeys and male and female autistic children). Although preliminary, this evidence suggests that the strong matrilineal organization of this species may limit the usefulness of low sociality in female rhesus monkeys as a tractable model for ASD.

Re-wilding model organisms: Opportunities to test causal mechanisms in social determinants of health and aging

Social experiences are strongly associated with individuals' health, aging, and survival in many mammalian taxa, including humans. Despite their role as models of many other physiological and developmental bases of health and aging, biomedical model organisms (particularly lab mice) remain an underutilized tool in resolving outstanding questions regarding social determinants of health and aging, including causality, context-dependence, reversibility, and effective interventions. This status is largely due to the constraints of standard laboratory conditions on animals' social lives. Even when kept in social housing, lab animals rarely experience social and physical environments that approach the richness, variability, and complexity they have evolved to navigate and benefit from. Here we argue that studying biomedical model organisms outside under complex, semi-natural social environments ("re-wilding") allows researchers to capture the methodological benefits of both field studies of wild animals and laboratory studies of model organisms. We review recent efforts to re-wild mice and highlight discoveries that have only been made possible by researchers studying mice under complex, manipulable social environments.

Functional maturation in visual pathways predicts attention to the eyes in infant rhesus macaques: Effects of social status

Differences in looking at the eyes of others are one of the earliest behavioral markers for social difficulties in neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism. However, it is unknown how early visuo-social experiences relate to the maturation of infant brain networks that process visual social stimuli. We investigated functional connectivity (FC) within the ventral visual object pathway as a contributing neural system. Densely sampled, longitudinal eye-tracking and resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data were collected from infant rhesus macaques, an important model of human social development, from birth through 6 months of age. Mean trajectories were fit for both datasets and individual trajectories from subjects with both eye-tracking and rs-fMRI data were used to test for brain-behavior relationships. Exploratory findings showed infants with greater increases in FC between left V1 to V3 visual areas have an earlier increase in eye-looking before 2 months. This relationship was moderated by social status such that infants with low social status had a stronger association between left V1 to V3 connectivity and eye-looking than high status infants. Results indicated that maturation of the visual object pathway may provide an important neural substrate supporting adaptive transitions in social visual attention during infancy.

Predictors of Long-Term Social Compatibility in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) Housed in Research Settings

Social housing improves the well-being of monkeys in research settings; however, little is known about factors influencing the long-term stability of established, full-contact pairs. Archival data were examined to determine whether sex, age, weight, duration pair housed, familiarity, social interruptions, room changes, or sedation events predicted eventual separation of pairs for social incompatibility (n = 80) or for nonsocial reasons (e.g., research or health needs) (n = 1143). Using a logistic regression model (Wald Χ2(8) = 42.325, p < .001), three significant factors were identified. Pairs in which partners had known prior familiarity in group housing were less likely to experience social incompatibility (p = .034). Pairs housed together longer (p < .001) and who staff had temporarily separated through the placement of a cage divider to reduce physical contact were more likely to require permanent separation for social incompatibility (p < .001); additional analysis revealed that dividers were often placed for social reasons, suggesting early signs of social instability. Findings may be useful for primate caregivers when making decisions about managing social partners.

Agonism and grooming behaviour explain social status effects on physiology and gene regulation in rhesus macaques

Variation in social status predicts molecular, physiological and life-history outcomes across a broad range of species, including our own. Experimental studies indicate that some of these relationships persist even when the physical environment is held constant. Here, we draw on datasets from one such study-experimental manipulation of dominance rank in captive female rhesus macaques-to investigate how social status shapes the lived experience of these animals to alter gene regulation, glucocorticoid physiology and mitochondrial DNA phenotypes. We focus specifically on dominance rank-associated dimensions of the social environment, including both competitive and affiliative interactions. Our results show that simple summaries of rank-associated behavioural interactions are often better predictors of molecular and physiological outcomes than dominance rank itself. However, while measures of immune function are best explained by agonism rates, glucocorticoid-related phenotypes tend to be more closely linked to affiliative behaviour. We conclude that dominance rank serves as a useful summary for investigating social environmental effects on downstream outcomes. Nevertheless, the behavioural interactions that define an individual's daily experiences reveal the proximate drivers of social status-related differences and are especially relevant for understanding why individuals who share the same social status sometimes appear physiologically distinct. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.

Distinct gene regulatory signatures of dominance rank and social bond strength in wild baboons

The social environment is a major determinant of morbidity, mortality and Darwinian fitness in social animals. Recent studies have begun to uncover the molecular processes associated with these relationships, but the degree to which they vary across different dimensions of the social environment remains unclear. Here, we draw on a long-term field study of wild baboons to compare the signatures of affiliative and competitive aspects of the social environment in white blood cell gene regulation, under both immune-stimulated and non-stimulated conditions. We find that the effects of dominance rank on gene expression are directionally opposite in males versus females, such that high-ranking males resemble low-ranking females, and vice versa. Among females, rank and social bond strength are both reflected in the activity of cellular metabolism and proliferation genes. However, while we observe pronounced rank-related differences in baseline immune gene activity, only bond strength predicts the fold-change response to immune (lipopolysaccharide) stimulation. Together, our results indicate that the directionality and magnitude of social effects on gene regulation depend on the aspect of the social environment under study. This heterogeneity may help explain why social environmental effects on health and longevity can also vary between measures. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.

Sex Differences in Hierarchical Stability in a Formation of a Mixed-sex Group of Rhesus Macaques

Forming groups of captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) is a common management practice. New formations of unfamiliar macaques can be costly, with high levels of trauma, particularly as intense aggression is used to establish a dominance hierarchy. Combining previous subgroups into one new group may be beneficial, as some individuals already have established dominance relationships. We tested this hypothesis by forming a new mixed-sex group of rhesus macaques that combined an established group of females with an established group of males. Prior to the mixed-sex group formation, both the female and male hierarchies had been stable for 3 y; after mixed-sex group formation these hierarchies were maintained by the females and were initially maintained by the males for 3 wks. However, the temporary hospitalization (due to a laceration caused by aggression) of the alpha male destabilized the male hierarchy. Age and weight then predicted male rank. Temporary hospitalizations resulted in rank changes for the males, evidenced by reversals in subordination signals. This study indicates that using established groups of familiar individuals may maintain female hierarchical stability in a mixedsex group formation, but further research is needed to understand how to maintain and predict male hierarchical stability to reduce trauma. Improved knowledge of hierarchical stability would be invaluable to managers of large rhesus macaque groups and would help improve the welfare of captive rhesus macaques.

What isn't social tolerance? The past, present, and possible future of an overused term in the field of primatology

In the past four decades, the term social tolerance has been utilized to describe, explain, and predict many different aspects of primates' sociality and has been measured with a large range of traits and behaviors. To date, however, there has been little discussion on whether these different phenomena all reflect one and the same construct. This paper opens the discussion by presenting the historical development of the term social tolerance and a structured overview of its current, overextended use. We argue that social tolerance has developed to describe two distinct concepts: social tolerance as the social structure of a group and social tolerance as the dyadic or group-level manifestation of tolerant behaviors. We highlight how these two concepts are based on conflicting theoretical understandings and practical assessments. In conclusion, we present suggestions for future research on primate social tolerance, which will allow for a more systematic and comparable investigation of primate sociality.

Social dominance and cooperation in female vampire bats

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.

Aggression, glucocorticoids, and the chronic costs of status competition for wild male chimpanzees

Across vertebrates, high social status affords preferential access to resources, and is expected to correlate positively with health and longevity. Increasing evidence, however, suggests that although dominant females generally enjoy reduced exposure to physiological and psychosocial stressors, dominant males do not. Here we test the hypothesis that costly mating competition by high-ranking males results in chronic, potentially harmful elevations in glucocorticoid production. We examined urinary glucocorticoids (n = 8029 samples) in a 20-year longitudinal study of wild male chimpanzees (n = 20 adults) in the Kanyawara community of Kibale National Park, Uganda. We tested whether glucocorticoid production was associated with dominance rank in the long term, and with mating competition and dominance instability in the short term. Using mixed models, we found that both male aggression and glucocorticoid excretion increased when the dominance hierarchy was unstable, and when parous females were sexually available. Glucocorticoid excretion was positively associated with male rank in stable and unstable hierarchies, and in mating and non-mating contexts. Glucorticoids increased with both giving and receiving aggression, but giving aggression was the primary mechanism linking elevated glucocorticoids with high rank. Glucocorticoids also increased with age. Together these results show that investment in male-male competition increases cumulative exposure to glucocorticoids, suggesting a long-term tradeoff with health that may constrain the ability to maintain high status across the life course. Our data suggest that the relationship between social rank and glucocorticoid production often differs in males and females owing to sex differences in the operation of sexual selection.

Epigenomics and gene regulation in mammalian social systems

Social epigenomics is a new field of research that studies how the social environment shapes the epigenome and how in turn the epigenome modulates behavior. We focus on describing known gene-environment interactions (GEIs) and epigenetic mechanisms in different mammalian social systems. To illustrate how epigenetic mechanisms integrate GEIs, we highlight examples where epigenetic mechanisms are associated with social behaviors and with their maintenance through neuroendocrine, locomotor, and metabolic responses. We discuss future research trajectories and open questions for the emerging field of social epigenomics in nonmodel and naturally occurring social systems. Finally, we outline the technological advances that aid the study of epigenetic mechanisms in the establishment of GEIs and vice versa.

Social determinants of health and survival in humans and other animals

The social environment, both in early life and adulthood, is one of the strongest predictors of morbidity and mortality risk in humans. Evidence from long-term studies of other social mammals indicates that this relationship is similar across many species. In addition, experimental studies show that social interactions can causally alter animal physiology, disease risk, and life span itself. These findings highlight the importance of the social environment to health and mortality as well as Darwinian fitness-outcomes of interest to social scientists and biologists alike. They thus emphasize the utility of cross-species analysis for understanding the predictors of, and mechanisms underlying, social gradients in health.

Dynamics of Intersexual Dominance and Adult Sex- Ratio in Wild Vervet Monkeys

Intersexual dominance relations are important for female mammals, because of their consequences for accessing food and for the degree of sexual control females experience from males. Female mammals are usually considered to rank below males in the dominance hierarchy, because of their typical physical inferiority. Yet, in some groups or species, females are nonetheless dominant over some males (partial female dominance). Intersexual dominance, therefore, also depends on traits other than sexual dimorphism, such as social support, social exchange, group adult sex-ratio, and the widespread self-reinforcing effects of winning and losing fights, the "winner-loser effect." The importance of sex-ratio and the winner-loser effect remains poorly understood. A theoretical model, DomWorld, predicts that in groups with a higher proportion of males, females are dominant over more males when aggression is fierce (not mild). The model is based on a small number of general processes in mammals, such as grouping, aggression, the winner-loser effect, the initially greater fighting capacity of males than females, and sex ratio. We expect its predictions to be general and suggest they be examined in a great number of species and taxa. Here, we test these predictions in four groups of wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in Mawana game reserve in Africa, using 7 years of data. We confirm that a higher proportion of males in the group is associated with greater dominance of females over males; a result that remains when combining these data with those of two other sites (Amboseli and Samara). We additionally confirm that in groups with a higher fraction of males there is a relatively higher (a) proportion of fights of males with other males, and (b) proportion of fights won by females against males from the fights of females with any adults. We reject alternative hypotheses that more dominance of females over males could be attributed to females receiving more coalitions from males, or females receiving lowered male aggression in exchange for sexual access (the docile male hypothesis). We conclude that female dominance relative to males is dynamic and that future empirical studies of inter-sexual dominance will benefit by considering the adult sex-ratio of groups.

Interindividual differences in neonatal sociality and emotionality predict juvenile social status in rhesus monkeys

In humans, socioeconomic status (SES) has profound outcomes on socio-emotional development and health. However, while much is known about the consequences of SES, little research has examined the predictors of SES due to the longitudinal nature of such studies. We sought to explore whether interindividual differences in neonatal sociality, temperament, and early social experiences predicted juvenile social status in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), as a proxy for SES in humans. We performed neonatal imitation tests in infants' first week of life and emotional reactivity assessments at 2 and 4 weeks of age. We examined whether these traits, as well as the rearing environment in the first 8 months of life (with the mother or with same-aged peers only) and maternal social status predicted juvenile (2-3 years old) social status following the formation of peer social groups at 8 months. We found that infants who exhibited higher rates of neonatal imitation and newborn emotional reactivity achieved higher social status as juveniles, as did infants who were reared with their mothers, compared to infants reared with peers. Maternal social status was only associated with juvenile status for infant dyads reared in the same maternal group, indicating that relative social relationships were transferred through social experience. These results suggest that neonatal imitation and emotional reactivity may reflect ingrained predispositions toward sociality that predict later outcomes, and that nonnormative social experiences can alter socio-developmental trajectories. Our results indicate that neonatal characteristics and early social experiences predict later social outcomes in adolescence, including gradients of social stratification.

Dominance rank-associated gene expression is widespread, sex-specific, and a precursor to high social status in wild male baboons

In humans and other hierarchical species, social status is tightly linked to variation in health and fitness-related traits. Experimental manipulations of social status in female rhesus macaques suggest that this relationship is partially explained by status effects on immune gene regulation. However, social hierarchies are established and maintained in different ways across species: While some are based on kin-directed nepotism, others emerge from direct physical competition. We investigated how this variation influences the relationship between social status and immune gene regulation in wild baboons, where hierarchies in males are based on fighting ability but female hierarchies are nepotistic. We measured rank-related variation in gene expression levels in adult baboons of both sexes at baseline and in response to ex vivo stimulation with the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We identified >2,000 rank-associated genes in males, an order of magnitude more than in females. In males, high status predicted increased expression of genes involved in innate immunity and preferential activation of the NF-κB-mediated proinflammatory pathway, a pattern previously associated with low status in female rhesus macaques. Using Mendelian randomization, we reconcile these observations by demonstrating that high status-associated gene expression patterns are precursors, not consequences, of high social status in males, in support of the idea that physiological condition determines who attains high rank. Together, our work provides a test of the relationship between social status and immune gene regulation in wild primates. It also emphasizes the importance of social context in shaping the relationship between social status and immune function.

Social Stratification and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: Examination of Emotional Suppression as a Pathway to Risk

This article examines whether emotional suppression is associated with socioeconomic position (SEP) in a community sample of Black and White men, and whether emotional suppression may help explain the aggregation of multiple biopsychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease at lower SEP (social support, depression, cardiovascular stress reactivity). Aim 1 tests whether multiple indicators of SEP show a consistent graded association with self-reported trait suppression, and whether suppression mediates associations between SEP and perceived social support and depressive affect. Aim 2 tests whether suppression during a laboratory anger recall task mediates associations between SEP and cardiovascular reactivity to the task. All measures of higher SEP were associated with lower suppression. Findings in this racially diverse sample of adult men suggest that socioeconomic disparities in emotional suppression may be more likely to confer cardiovascular risk through disruption of affect and social relationships, than through direct and immediate physiological pathways.

Thermal Modulation of Monoamine Levels Influence Fish Stress and Welfare

Fish are ectotherm organisms that move through different thermal zones according to their physiological requirements and environmental availability, a behavior known as thermoregulation. Thermoregulation in ectothermic animals is influenced by their ability to effectively respond to thermal variations. While it is known that ectotherms are affected by thermal changes, it remains unknown how physiological and/or metabolic traits are impacted by modifications in the thermal environment. In captivity (land-based infrastructures or nets located in the open sea), fish are often restricted to spatially constant temperature conditions within the containment unit and cannot choose among different thermal conditions for thermoregulation. In order to understand how spatial variation of temperature may affect fish welfare and stress, we designed an experiment using either restricted or wide thermal ranges, looking for changes at hormonal and molecular levels. Also, thermal variability impact on fish behavior was measured. Our results showed that in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), a wide thermal range (ΔT 6.8°C) was associated with significant increases in monoamines hormone levels and in the expression of clock genes. Aggressive and territoriality behavior decreased, positively affecting parameters linked to welfare, such as growth and fin damage. In contrast, a restricted thermal range (ΔT 1.4°C) showed the opposite pattern in all the analyzed parameters, therefore, having detrimental effects on welfare. In conclusion, our results highlight the key role of thermal range amplitude on fish behavior and on interactions with major metabolism-regulating processes, such as hormone performance and molecular regulatory mechanisms that have positive effects on the welfare.

Rates of human-macaque interactions affect grooming behavior among urban-dwelling rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

OBJECTIVES

The impact of anthropogenic environmental changes may impose strong pressures on the behavioral flexibility of free-ranging animals. Here, we examine whether rates of interactions with humans had both a direct and indirect influence on the duration and distribution of social grooming in commensal rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were collected in two locations in the city of Shimla in northern India: an urban setting and a temple area. We divided these two locations in a series of similar-sized physical blocks (N = 48) with varying rates of human-macaque interactions. We conducted focal observations on three free-ranging rhesus macaque groups, one in the urban area and two in the temple area.

RESULTS

Our analysis shows that macaques engaged in shorter grooming bouts and were more vigilant while grooming in focal sessions during which they interacted with people more frequently, suggesting that humans directly affected grooming effort and vigilance behavior. Furthermore, we found that in blocks characterized by higher rates of human-macaque interactions grooming bouts were shorter, more frequently interrupted by vigilance behavior, and were less frequently reciprocated.

DISCUSSION

Our work shows that the rates of human-macaque interaction had both a direct and indirect impact on grooming behavior and that macaques flexibly modified their grooming interactions in relation to the rates of human-macaque interaction to which they were exposed. Because grooming has important social and hygienic functions in nonhuman primates, our work suggests that human presence can have important implications for animal health, social relationships and, ultimately, fitness. Our results point to the need of areas away from people even for highly adaptable species where they can engage in social interactions without human disruption.

The influence of kinship and dominance hierarchy on grooming partner choice in free-ranging Macaca mulatta brevicaudus

In group-living animals, individuals do not interact uniformly with their conspecifics. Among primates, such heterogeneity in partner choice can be discerned from affiliative grooming patterns. While the preference for selecting close kin as grooming partners is ubiquitous across the primate order, the selection of higher-ranking non-kin individuals as grooming partners is less common. We studied a group of provisioned rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta brevicaudus) on Hainan Island, China, to examine rank-related benefits of grooming exchanges and the influence of kin relationships. We tested four hypotheses based on Seyfarth's model: (1) there will be kin preference in grooming relationships; (2) grooming between non-kin individuals will be directed up the dominance rank; (3) grooming between non-kin individuals will reduce aggression from higher-ranking ones; and (4) non-kin individuals will spend more time grooming with adjacent ranked ones. We found that grooming relationships between kin individuals were stronger than those between non-kin individuals. For non-kin relationships, lower-ranking individuals received less aggression from higher-ranking ones through grooming; a benefit they could not derive through grooming exchanges with individuals related by kinship. Individuals spent more time grooming adjacent higher-ranking non-kin individuals and higher-ranking individuals also received more grooming from non-kin individuals. Our results supported Seyfarth's model for predicting partner choice between non-kin individuals. For relationships between kin individuals, we found results that were not consistent with prediction for the exchanges of aggression and grooming, indicating the importance to control for the influence of kinship in future studies.

Social adversity and epigenetic aging: a multi-cohort study on socioeconomic differences in peripheral blood DNA methylation

Low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with earlier onset of age-related chronic conditions and reduced life-expectancy, but the underlying biomolecular mechanisms remain unclear. Evidence of DNA-methylation differences by SES suggests a possible association of SES with epigenetic age acceleration (AA). We investigated the association of SES with AA in more than 5,000 individuals belonging to three independent prospective cohorts from Italy, Australia, and Ireland. Low SES was associated with greater AA (β = 0.99 years; 95% CI 0.39,1.59; p = 0.002; comparing extreme categories). The results were consistent across different SES indicators. The associations were only partially modulated by the unhealthy lifestyle habits of individuals with lower SES. Individuals who experienced life-course SES improvement had intermediate AA compared to extreme SES categories, suggesting reversibility of the effect and supporting the relative importance of the early childhood social environment. Socioeconomic adversity is associated with accelerated epigenetic aging, implicating biomolecular mechanisms that may link SES to age-related diseases and longevity.

Rank acquisition in rhesus macaque yearlings following permanent maternal separation: The importance of the social and physical environment

Rank acquisition is a developmental milestone for young primates, but the processes by which primate yearlings attain social rank in the absence of the mother remain unclear. We studied 18 maternally reared yearling rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) that differed in their social and physical rearing environments. We found that early social experience and maternal rank, but not individual traits (weight, sex, age), predicted dominance acquisition in the new peer-only social group. Yearlings also used coalitions to reinforce the hierarchy, and social affiliation (play and grooming) was likely a product, rather than a determinant, of rank acquisition. Following relocation to a familiar environment, significant rank changes occurred indicating that familiarity with a physical environment was salient in rank acquisition. Our results add to the growing body of literature emphasizing the role of the social and physical environment on behavioral development, namely social asymmetries among peers.

Maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to foraging uncertainty: A model of individual vs. social allostasis and the "Superorganism Hypothesis"

INTRODUCTION

Food insecurity is a major global contributor to developmental origins of adult disease. The allostatic load of maternal food uncertainty from variable foraging demand (VFD) activates corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) without eliciting hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation measured on a group level. Individual homeostatic adaptations of the HPA axis may subserve second-order homeostasis, a process we provisionally term "social allostasis." We postulate that maternal food insecurity induces a "superorganism" state through coordination of individual HPA axis response.

METHODS

Twenty-four socially-housed bonnet macaque maternal-infant dyads were exposed to 16 weeks of alternating two-week epochs of low or high foraging demand shown to compromise normative maternal-infant rearing. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CRF concentrations and plasma cortisol were measured pre- and post-VFD. Dyadic distance was measured, and blinded observers performed pre-VFD social ranking assessments.

RESULTS

Despite marked individual cortisol responses (mean change = 20%) there was an absence of maternal HPA axis group mean response to VFD (0%). Whereas individual CSF CRF concentrations change = 56%, group mean did increase 25% (p = 0.002). Our "dyadic vulnerability" index (low infant weight, low maternal weight, subordinate maternal social status and reduced dyadic distance) predicted maternal cortisol decreases (p < 0.0001) whereas relatively "advantaged" dyads exhibited maternal cortisol increases in response to VFD exposure.

COMMENT

In response to a chronic stressor, relative dyadic vulnerability plays a significant role in determining the directionality and magnitude of individual maternal HPA axis responses in the service of maintaining a "superorganism" version of HPA axis homeostasis, provisionally termed "social allostasis."

Higher levels of submissive behaviors at the onset of the pairing process of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are associated with lower risk of wounding following introduction

Social housing of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) is considered to be the cornerstone of behavioral management programs in biomedical facilities. However, it also involves the risk of socially inflicted trauma. The ability to avoid such trauma would contribute to the animals' well-being and alleviate staff's concerns, thus paving the path for more introductions. Here, we sought to address the conflict between the need to socially house rhesus macaques and the need to bring social wounding to a minimum by identifying behaviors expressed early in social introductions, that may serve as predictors of later wounding events. We employed logistic regression analysis to predict the occurrence of wounding for 39 iso-sexual, adult pairs in the 30 days following the introduction into full contact using the levels of behaviors that were observed at the onset of the introduction. The results show that the levels of submissive behaviors were the only significant predictor to later stage wounding. Higher levels of submissive behaviors expressed during the early phases of the introduction were associated with a decreased likelihood of wounding. Interestingly, levels of affiliative behaviors have not added any power to the predictability of the statistical model. Therefore, it may be suggested that the exchange of submissive signals at the earliest stages of the introduction is critical in the determination of relative rank and preclude the need to establish dominance via aggression when allowed full contact. While the observation of clear-cut dominance relationships is commonly considered a harbinger of success, our findings suggest that it is the acknowledgment of subordination, rather than the expression of dominance that underlies this observed pattern. The value of our findings for guiding social housing decision-making may be strongest in situations in which the composition of potential partners is constrained, and therefore requiring that wise decisions be relied upon early behaviors.

Social status alters immune regulation and response to infection in macaques

Social status is one of the strongest predictors of human disease risk and mortality, and it also influences Darwinian fitness in social mammals more generally. To understand the biological basis of these effects, we combined genomics with a social status manipulation in female rhesus macaques to investigate how status alters immune function. We demonstrate causal but largely plastic social status effects on immune cell proportions, cell type-specific gene expression levels, and the gene expression response to immune challenge. Further, we identify specific transcription factor signaling pathways that explain these differences, including low-status-associated polarization of the Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway toward a proinflammatory response. Our findings provide insight into the direct biological effects of social inequality on immune function, thus improving our understanding of social gradients in health.

The importance of the altricial - precocial spectrum for social complexity in mammals and birds - a review

Various types of long-term stable relationships that individuals uphold, including cooperation and competition between group members, define social complexity in vertebrates. Numerous life history, physiological and cognitive traits have been shown to affect, or to be affected by, such social relationships. As such, differences in developmental modes, i.e. the ‘altricial-precocial’ spectrum, may play an important role in understanding the interspecific variation in occurrence of social interactions, but to what extent this is the case is unclear because the role of the developmental mode has not been studied directly in across-species studies of sociality. In other words, although there are studies on the effects of developmental mode on brain size, on the effects of brain size on cognition, and on the effects of cognition on social complexity, there are no studies directly investigating the link between developmental mode and social complexity. This is surprising because developmental differences play a significant role in the evolution of, for example, brain size, which is in turn considered an essential building block with respect to social complexity. Here, we compiled an overview of studies on various aspects of the complexity of social systems in altricial and precocial mammals and birds. Although systematic studies are scarce and do not allow for a quantitative comparison, we show that several forms of social relationships and cognitive abilities occur in species along the entire developmental spectrum. Based on the existing evidence it seems that differences in developmental modes play a minor role in whether or not individuals or species are able to meet the cognitive capabilities and requirements for maintaining complex social relationships. Given the scarcity of comparative studies and potential subtle differences, however, we suggest that future studies should consider developmental differences to determine whether our finding is general or whether some of the vast variation in social complexity across species can be explained by developmental mode. This would allow a more detailed assessment of the relative importance of developmental mode in the evolution of vertebrate social systems.

Dominance rank causally affects personality and glucocorticoid regulation in female rhesus macaques

Low social status is frequently associated with heightened exposure to social stressors and altered glucocorticoid regulation by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Additionally, personality differences can affect how individuals behave in response to social conditions, and thus may aggravate or protect against the effects of low status on HPA function. Disentangling the relative importance of personality from the effects of the social environment on the HPA axis has been challenging, since social status can predict aspects of behavior, and both can remain stable across the lifespan. To do so here, we studied an animal model of social status and social behavior, the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). We performed two sequential experimental manipulations of dominance rank (i.e., social status) in 45 adult females, allowing us to characterize personality and glucocorticoid regulation (based on sensitivity to the exogenous glucocorticoid dexamethasone) in each individual while she occupied two different dominance ranks. We identified two behavioral characteristics, termed 'social approachability' and 'boldness,' which were highly social status-dependent. Social approachability and a third dimension, anxiousness, were also associated with cortisol dynamics in low status females, suggesting that behavioral tendencies may sensitize individuals to the effects of low status on HPA axis function. Finally, we found that improvements in dominance rank increased dexamethasone-induced acute cortisol suppression and glucocorticoid negative feedback. Our findings indicate that social status causally affects both behavioral tendencies and glucocorticoid regulation, and that some behavioral tendencies also independently affect cortisol levels, beyond the effects of rank. Together, they highlight the importance of considering personality and social status together when investigating their effects on HPA axis function.

The epigenetic impacts of social stress: how does social adversity become biologically embedded?

Epigenetic mechanisms are implicated in the processes through which social stressors erode health in humans and other animals. Here I review progress in elucidating the biological pathways underlying the social gradient in health, with particular emphasis on how behavioral stresses influence epigenomic variation linked to health. The evidence that epigenetic changes are involved in embedding of social status-linked chronic stress is reviewed in the context of current knowledge about behavior within animal dominance hierarchies and the impacts of social position on behaviors that affect health. The roles of epigenetic mechanisms in responses to trauma and the evidence for their involvement in intergenerational transmission of the biological impacts of traumatic stress are also considered. Taken together, the emerging insights have important implications for development of strategies to improve societal health and well-being.