Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Hormonal correlates of natal dispersal and rank attainment in wild male baboons.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Akinyi, MY; Gesquiere, LR; Franz, M; Onyango, PO; Altmann, J; Alberts, SC
Published in: Hormones and behavior
August 2017

In many mammals, maturational milestones such as dispersal and the attainment of adult dominance rank mark stages in the onset of reproductive activity and depend on a coordinated set of hormonal and socio-behavioral changes. Studies that focus on the link between hormones and maturational milestones are uncommon in wild mammals because of the challenges of obtaining adequate sample sizes of maturing animals and of tracking the movements of dispersing animals. We examined two maturational milestones in wild male baboons-adult dominance rank attainment and natal dispersal-and measured their association with variation in glucocorticoids (fGC) and fecal testosterone (fT). We found that rank attainment is associated with an increase in fGC levels but not fT levels: males that have achieved any adult rank have higher fGC than males that have not yet attained an adult rank. This indicates that once males have attained an adult rank they experience greater energetic and/or psychosocial demands than they did prior to attaining this milestone, most likely because of the resulting participation in both agonistic and sexual behaviors that accompany rank attainment. In contrast, natal dispersal does not produce sustained increases in either fGC or fT levels, suggesting that individuals are either well adapted to face the challenges associated with dispersal or that the effects of dispersal on hormone levels are ephemeral for male baboons.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Hormones and behavior

DOI

EISSN

1095-6867

ISSN

0018-506X

Publication Date

August 2017

Volume

94

Start / End Page

153 / 161

Related Subject Headings

  • Testosterone
  • Social Dominance
  • Social Behavior
  • Reproduction
  • Papio
  • Male
  • Glucocorticoids
  • Feces
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Animals, Wild
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Akinyi, M. Y., Gesquiere, L. R., Franz, M., Onyango, P. O., Altmann, J., & Alberts, S. C. (2017). Hormonal correlates of natal dispersal and rank attainment in wild male baboons. Hormones and Behavior, 94, 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.07.005
Akinyi, Mercy Y., Laurence R. Gesquiere, Mathias Franz, Patrick O. Onyango, Jeanne Altmann, and Susan C. Alberts. “Hormonal correlates of natal dispersal and rank attainment in wild male baboons.Hormones and Behavior 94 (August 2017): 153–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.07.005.
Akinyi MY, Gesquiere LR, Franz M, Onyango PO, Altmann J, Alberts SC. Hormonal correlates of natal dispersal and rank attainment in wild male baboons. Hormones and behavior. 2017 Aug;94:153–61.
Akinyi, Mercy Y., et al. “Hormonal correlates of natal dispersal and rank attainment in wild male baboons.Hormones and Behavior, vol. 94, Aug. 2017, pp. 153–61. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2017.07.005.
Akinyi MY, Gesquiere LR, Franz M, Onyango PO, Altmann J, Alberts SC. Hormonal correlates of natal dispersal and rank attainment in wild male baboons. Hormones and behavior. 2017 Aug;94:153–161.
Journal cover image

Published In

Hormones and behavior

DOI

EISSN

1095-6867

ISSN

0018-506X

Publication Date

August 2017

Volume

94

Start / End Page

153 / 161

Related Subject Headings

  • Testosterone
  • Social Dominance
  • Social Behavior
  • Reproduction
  • Papio
  • Male
  • Glucocorticoids
  • Feces
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Animals, Wild