More allogrooming is followed by higher physiological stress in wild female baboons
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This seminar is based on an article in the Royal Society journal, Biology Letters: More allogrooming is followed by higher physiological stress in wild female baboons | Biology Letters: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0163
The author can be found at their personal website: https://www.charlottechristensenresearch.com
Social bonds increase fitness in a range of mammals. One pathway by which social bonds may increase fitness is by reducing the exposure to physiological stress, i.e. glucocorticoid (GC) hormones, that can be detrimental to health and survival. This is achieved through downregulating hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)-axis activity. Indeed, long-term measures of social (grooming) bonds are often negatively correlated with HPA-axis activity. However, the proximate role of physical touch through allogrooming remains an open question in the sociality–health–fitness debate. Demonstrating the potential anxiolytic benefits of grooming in the wild is hindered by methodological limitations. Here, we match accelerometer-identified grooming in wild female chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) to non-invasive faecal GC metabolite concentrations (fGCs). Consistent with previous work, we found a negative (but statistically non-significant) overall relationship between individual averaged fGCs and grooming rates. However, when time-matching grooming to fGCs, we found that both more giving and receiving grooming were followed by higher fGCs. This upregulation of HPA-axis activity suggests that maintaining social bonds (and its ultimate fitness benefits) may come at a shorter-term physiological cost. This finding sheds new light on a ubiquitous social behaviour typically considered ‘relaxing’ and suggests that sociopositive contact can trigger physiological stress.
This webinar was first held on 30 August 2024.
The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
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This seminar is based on an article in the Royal Society journal, Biology Letters: More allogrooming is followed by higher physiological stress in wild female baboons | Biology Letters: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0163
The author can be found at their personal website: https://www.charlottechristensenresearch.com
Social bonds increase fitness in a range of mammals. One pathway by which social bonds may increase fitness is by reducing the exposure to physiological stress, i.e. glucocorticoid (GC) hormones, that can be detrimental to health and survival. This is achieved through downregulating hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)-axis activity. Indeed, long-term measures of social (grooming) bonds are often negatively correlated with HPA-axis activity. However, the proximate role of physical touch through allogrooming remains an open question in the sociality–health–fitness debate. Demonstrating the potential anxiolytic benefits of grooming in the wild is hindered by methodological limitations. Here, we match accelerometer-identified grooming in wild female chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) to non-invasive faecal GC metabolite concentrations (fGCs). Consistent with previous work, we found a negative (but statistically non-significant) overall relationship between individual averaged fGCs and grooming rates. However, when time-matching grooming to fGCs, we found that both more giving and receiving grooming were followed by higher fGCs. This upregulation of HPA-axis activity suggests that maintaining social bonds (and its ultimate fitness benefits) may come at a shorter-term physiological cost. This finding sheds new light on a ubiquitous social behaviour typically considered ‘relaxing’ and suggests that sociopositive contact can trigger physiological stress.
This webinar was first held on 30 August 2024.
The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
▶https://royalsociety.org/
Subscribe to our channel for exciting science videos and live events, many hosted by Brian Cox, our Professor for Public Engagement: https://bit.ly/3fQIFXB
We’re also on Bluesky ▶ https://bsky.app/profile/royalsociety.org
Facebook ▶ https://www.facebook.com/theroyalsociety/
Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/theroyalsociety/
And LinkedIn ▶ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-royal-society
The Royal Society
The Royal Society is a Fellowship of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
We aim to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science ...