Maternal Behavior and Physiological Stress Levels in Wild Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Stanton, Margaret A.; Heintz, Matthew R.; Lonsdorf, Elizabeth V.; Santymire, Rachel M.; Lipende, Iddi; Murray, Carson M.

doi:10.1007/s10764-015-9836-2

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…Unless otherwise specified, in all generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) described below we controlled for known seasonal variation in FGM concentrations [Stanton et al, ] by transforming day of year into radians and including a set of two sine‐plus‐cosine functions with annual and semiannual periodicities as additional fixed effects [Shumway & Stoffer, ]. Also, to control for possible diurnal variation in FGM concentrations, only samples collected before 12:00 hr (AM samples) were included in analyses with daily FGM concentration as the response variable.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal effects on offspring stress physiology in wild chimpanzees

Murray

Stanton

Wellens

et al. 2016

American J Primatol

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Early life experiences are known to influence hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis development, which can impact health outcomes through the individual's ability to mount appropriate physiological reactions to stressors. In primates, these early experiences are most often mediated through the mother and can include the physiological environment experienced during gestation. Here, we investigate stress physiology of dependent offspring in wild chimpanzees for the first time and examine whether differences in maternal stress physiology are related to differences in offspring stress physiology. Specifically, we explore the relationship between maternal rank and maternal fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentration during pregnancy and early lactation (first 6 months post-partum) and examine whether differences based on maternal rank are associated with dependent offspring FGM concentrations. We found that low-ranking females exhibited significantly higher FGM concentrations during pregnancy than during the first 6 months of lactation. Furthermore, during pregnancy, low-ranking females experienced significantly higher FGM concentrations than high-ranking females. As for dependent offspring, we found that male offspring of low-ranking mothers experienced stronger decreases in FGM concentrations as they aged compared to males with high-ranking mothers or their dependent female counterparts. Together, these results suggest that maternal rank and FGM concentrations experienced during gestation are related to offspring stress physiology and that this relationship is particularly pronounced in males compared to females. Importantly, this study provides the first evidence for maternal effects on the development of offspring HPA function in wild chimpanzees, which likely relates to subsequent health and fitness outcomes. Am. J. Primatol. 80:e22525, 2018. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal effects on offspring stress physiology in wild chimpanzees

Murray

Stanton

Wellens

et al. 2016

American J Primatol

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“…One major way in which GCs can influence offspring development is by altering maternal behavior. In studies of wild nonhuman primates and humans, maternal GCs during gestation and lactation increase maternal responsiveness and time spent grooming and nursing infants . However, opposite patterns have been found in captive populations, with GCs inversely related to measures of maternal investment and positively related to the frequency of abuse and rejection toward offspring .…”

Section: Proximate Mechanisms Of Developmental Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In studies of wild nonhuman primates and humans, maternal GCs during gestation and lactation increase maternal responsiveness 88,89 and time spent grooming and nursing infants. 90 However, opposite patterns have been found in captive populations, with GCs inversely related to measures of maternal investment 91,92 and positively related to the frequency of abuse and rejection toward offspring. 93,94 These patterns may suggest that intermediate concentrations of GCs within a more naturalistic range (e.g., in the wild) enhance maternal care through arousal mechanisms, but extreme environments (e.g., constraints of captivity) 87 may trigger abandonment behaviors.…”

Section: Glucocorticoidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental responses to early‐life adversity: Evolutionary and mechanistic perspectives

Petrullo

Carrera

et al. 2019

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Adverse ecological and social conditions during early life are known to influence development, with rippling effects that may explain variation in adult health and fitness. The adaptive function of such developmental plasticity, however, remains relatively untested in long‐lived animals, resulting in much debate over which evolutionary models are most applicable. Furthermore, despite the promise of clinical interventions that might alleviate the health consequences of early‐life adversity, research on the proximate mechanisms governing phenotypic responses to adversity have been largely limited to studies on glucocorticoids. Here, we synthesize the current state of research on developmental plasticity, discussing both ultimate and proximate mechanisms. First, we evaluate the utility of adaptive models proposed to explain developmental responses to early‐life adversity, particularly for long‐lived mammals such as humans. In doing so, we highlight how parent‐offspring conflict complicates our understanding of whether mothers or offspring benefit from these responses. Second, we discuss the role of glucocorticoids and a second physiological system—the gut microbiome—that has emerged as an additional, clinically relevant mechanism by which early‐life adversity can influence development. Finally, we suggest ways in which nonhuman primates can serve as models to study the effects of early‐life adversity, both from evolutionary and clinical perspectives.

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“…It was developed in partnership with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (now Gorilla Doctors) to collect standardized data on the occurrence of clinical signs associated with several major disease syndromes (respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, trauma, and wasting). Additional investigations of enteric (Bakuza, ; Gillespie et al, ; Parsons et al, , ) and respiratory pathogens (Wevers et al, ; Wolf et al, ), pathological investigation (Terio et al, ), endocrinological and immunological co‐factors (Murray, Heintz, Lonsdorf, Parr, & Santymire, ; Stanton et al, ; Wroblewski et al, ); as well as (rare) veterinary interventions (Lonsdorf et al, ) were implemented and have been summarized elsewhere. In this sense, the idea that Gombe could serve as a natural laboratory for the validation of ecosystem health approaches and methods to characterizing and mitigate risks for primate conservation has been a success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The grand challenge of great ape health and conservation in the anthropocene

Travis

Lonsorf

Gillespie

2017

American J Primatol

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"Ecosystem Health recognizes the inherent interdependence of the health of humans, animals and ecosystems and explores the perspectives, theories and methodologies emerging at the interface between ecological and health sciences." This broad focus requires new approaches and methods for solving problems of greater complexity at larger scales than ever before. Nowhere is this point more salient than the case of disease emergence and control at the human-non human primate interface in shrinking tropical forests under great anthropogenic pressure. This special edition brings together transdisciplinary experts who have created successful partnerships leading to advances in ecosystem approaches to health for wild ape populations with relevance to all developing country tropical forest environments. It is no coincidence that the advances herein highlight two long term health projects-the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project (Gombe National Park, Tanzania), and the Taï Chimpanzee Project (TCP) in Côte d'Ivoire-since standardizing and validating noninvasive disease surveillance, risk assessment and management methods presents a special series of challenges where time is a major factor. Advances highlighted in this addition include: health surveillance and monitoring, health risk analysis, field immobilization and interventions, human-NHP networks/interfaces, diagnostic tool development, and cutting edge molecular and genetic techniques.

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Maternal Behavior and Physiological Stress Levels in Wild Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Cited by 18 publications

References 89 publications

Maternal effects on offspring stress physiology in wild chimpanzees

Maternal effects on offspring stress physiology in wild chimpanzees

Developmental responses to early‐life adversity: Evolutionary and mechanistic perspectives

The grand challenge of great ape health and conservation in the anthropocene

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