Shared community effects and the non-genetic maternal environment shape cortisol levels in wild chimpanzees

Tkaczynski, PJ ORCID: 0000-0003-3207-2132, Mafessoni, F ORCID: 0000-0003-4319-2076, Girard-Buttoz, C, Samuni, L ORCID: 0000-0001-7957-6050, Ackermann, CY, Fedurek, P, Gomes, C, Hobaiter, C, Löhrich, T, Manin, V, Preis, A, Valé, PD, Wessling, EG, Wittiger, L, Zommers, Z, Zuberbuehler, K, Vigilant, L ORCID: 0000-0003-4509-1260, Deschner, T, Wittig, RM and Crockford, C (2023) Shared community effects and the non-genetic maternal environment shape cortisol levels in wild chimpanzees. Communications Biology, 6 (1). p. 565. ISSN 2399-3642

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Abstract

Mechanisms of inheritance remain poorly defined for many fitness-mediating traits, especially in long-lived animals with protracted development. Using 6,123 urinary samples from 170 wild chimpanzees, we examined the contributions of genetics, non-genetic maternal effects, and shared community effects on variation in cortisol levels, an established predictor of survival in long-lived primates. Despite evidence for consistent individual variation in cortisol levels across years, between-group effects were more influential and made an overwhelming contribution to variation in this trait. Focusing on within-group variation, non-genetic maternal effects accounted for 8% of the individual differences in average cortisol levels, significantly more than that attributable to genetic factors, which was indistinguishable from zero. These maternal effects are consistent with a primary role of a shared environment in shaping physiology. For chimpanzees, and perhaps other species with long life histories, community and maternal effects appear more relevant than genetic inheritance in shaping key physiological traits.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Animals; Pan troglodytes; Hydrocortisone; Glucocorticoids; Phenotype; Social Cohesion; Animals; Hydrocortisone; Pan troglodytes; Social Cohesion; Glucocorticoids; Phenotype
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions:	Biological and Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
Date of acceptance:	3 May 2023
Date of first compliant Open Access:	13 February 2024
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2024 09:44
Last Modified:	04 Jul 2025 14:15
DOI or ID number:	10.1038/s42003-023-04909-9
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/22603

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