Behavior and socioendocrinology of adult male rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago

摘要: Group-living carries significant costs: disease transmission, resource competition, reproductive interference by conspecifics, and increased conspicuousness to predators. These costs can be substantial for dispersing males, as they are not offset any benefits of sociality kin. Although intragroup affiliative aggressive interactions likely impact male reproduction physiology, assessment these relationships is complicated a multitude non-social factors that affect behavior physical condition in wild populations. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) the Caribbean island Cayo Santiago live naturally-structured groups, free predation or food scarcity. The population's social complexity simplified ecology offer unique opportunity evaluate physiological correlates behavior, dominance rank, age group-living primates. In first chapter, I investigated relationship between socio-demographic mating success within season. Dominance age, intrasexual aggression emerged principal determinants. Affiliative with adult conspecifics were related average rate. Malefemale dyads groomed more mated less than non-grooming dyads. second chapter focused on glucocorticoid androgen sociality. found correlation levels fecal samples across seasons. Both hormones peaked half season when closely male-male rates. There was no difference hormone concentrations birth results indicated role inter-individual differences endocrinology. third evaluated novel hair-based assay assess cortisol levels. young middle-aged this technique revealed positive hair values extracted from feces. Male-male As long-term indicator levels, holds promising potential field fourth reviewed caveats feces-based primates, emphasized importance species-specific validation technique. Degree Type Dissertation Name Doctor Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Biology This dissertation available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/564 First Advisor Dorothy L. Cheney