Social conflict and costs of cooperation in meerkats are reflected in measures of stress hormones

dc.contributor.authorDantzer, Ben
dc.contributor.authorBennett, Nigel Charles
dc.contributor.authorClutton-Brock, Tim H.
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-01T09:34:02Z
dc.date.issued2017-07
dc.description.abstractMeasures of glucocorticoid stress hormones (e.g. cortisol) have often been used to characterize conflict between subordinates and dominants. In cooperative breeders where subordinates seldom breed in their natal group and assist in offspring rearing, increases in subordinate glucocorticoid levels may be caused by conflict among subordinates as well as by the energetic costs of helping behavior and fluctuations in food availability may exacerbate these effects. During a 6-year study of Kalahari meerkats (Suricata suricatta), we investigated how social, environmental, and individual characteristics influenced subordinate plasma cortisol levels. Subordinate females, who are often the target of aggression from dominant females, had higher cortisol levels when the dominant female in their group was pregnant while the cortisol levels of subordinate males were unaffected by the reproductive state of dominant females. Subordinates of both sexes had higher cortisol levels if they belonged to groups 1) where neither of the dominant breeders in the group were their parents, 2) that contained a high proportion of subordinate females, or 3) that were either very large or very small, especially when the weather was cold and dry. Subordinates in groups containing young pups had higher cortisol levels. Finally, cortisol levels were higher in subordinates of both sexes if they were lighter for their age or had lost little body mass the night prior to sampling. Our results show that both social conflict and cooperative behavior can elevate glucocorticoid levels in subordinates and that both effects can be modified by variation in weather and food availability.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentMammal Research Instituteen_ZA
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_ZA
dc.description.embargo2018-07-01
dc.description.librarianhj2018en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe National Environment Research Council (RG53472 to T.H.C-B.), the European Research Council (294494 to T.H.C-B.), the University of Zurich and the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://beheco.oxfordjournals.orgen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDantzer, B., Bennett, N.C. & Clutton-Brock, T. 2017, 'Social conflict and costs of cooperation in meerkats are reflected in measures of stress hormones', Behavioral Ecology, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 1131-1141.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1465-7279 (online)
dc.identifier.issn1045-2249 (print)
dc.identifier.other10.1093/beheco/arx077
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/63842
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherOxford University Pressen_ZA
dc.rights© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Behavioral Ecology following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is : 'Social conflict and costs of cooperation in meerkats are reflected in measures of stress hormones', Behavioral Ecology, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 1131-1141, 2017, doi : 10.1093/beheco/arx077, is available online at : http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org.en_ZA
dc.subjectSocialityen_ZA
dc.subjectGlucocorticoidsen_ZA
dc.subjectCooperative breedingen_ZA
dc.subjectAnimal societiesen_ZA
dc.subjectMeerkat (Suricata suricatta)en_ZA
dc.titleSocial conflict and costs of cooperation in meerkats are reflected in measures of stress hormonesen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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