| Records |
Author  |
Creel, S. |
| Title |
Social dominance and stress hormones |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Trends in Ecology & Evolution |
Abbreviated Journal |
Trends. Ecol. Evol |
| Volume |
16 |
Issue |
9 |
Pages |
491-497 |
| Keywords |
Dominance; rank; stress; glucocorticoids; cooperative breeding; sociality; behavioural endocrinology; mammals |
| Abstract |
In most cooperatively breeding birds and mammals, reproductive rates are lower for social subordinates than for dominants, and it is common for reproduction in subordinates to be completely suppressed. Early research conducted in captivity showed that losing fights can increase glucocorticoid (GC) secretion, a general response to stress. Because GCs can suppress reproduction, it has been widely argued that chronic stress might underlie reproductive suppression of social subordinates in cooperative breeders. Contradicting this hypothesis, recent studies of cooperative breeders in the wild show that dominant individuals have elevated GCs more often than do subordinates. The findings that elevated GCs can be a consequence of subordination or a cost of dominance complicate the conventional view of social stress, with broad ramifications for the evolution of dominance and reproductive suppression. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4072 |
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| Author |
Sands, J.; Creel, S. |
| Title |
Social dominance, aggression and faecal glucocorticoid levels in a wild population of wolves, Canis lupus |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
67 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
387-396 |
| Keywords |
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| Abstract |
Adrenal glucocorticoid (GC) secretion is an important component of the response to stress in vertebrates. A short-term increase in circulating GCs serves to redirect energy from processes that can be briefly curtailed without harm, allowing energy to be directed towards eliminating or avoiding the stressor. In contrast, prolonged elevation of GCs can cause a broad range of pathologies, including reproductive suppression. We examined whether social subordination in wolves leads to chronically elevated GC levels, and whether this [`]social stress' causes reproductive suppression of subordinates in cooperatively breeding species. Behavioural and endocrine data collected over 2 years from three packs of free-living wolves in Yellowstone National Park did not support this hypothesis. GC levels were significantly higher in dominant wolves than in subordinates, for both sexes, in all packs, in both years of study. Unlike other cooperatively breeding carnivores (e.g. dwarf mongooses, Helogale parvula, and African wild dogs, Lycaon pictus), high GCs in dominant wolves were not associated with high rates of aggression or agonistic interaction. Aggression increased for wolves of all ranks during mating periods, accompanied by a significant rise in GC levels. If chronic elevation of GCs carries fitness costs, then social stress in wolves (and many other social species) is a cost of dominance, not a consequence of subordination. The specific behavioural correlates of dominance that affect GC levels appear to vary among species, even those with similar social systems. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5222 |
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