Social hierarchies are ubiquitous in social species and profoundly influence physiology and behavior. Androgens like testosterone have been strongly linked to social status, yet the molecular mechanisms regulating social status are not known. The African cichlid fish
Androgens are important mediators of male‐male competition in many primate species. Male gorillas' morphology is consistent with a reproductive strategy that relies heavily on androgen‐dependent traits (e.g., extreme size and muscle mass). Despite possessing characteristics typical of species with an exclusively single‐male group structure, multimale groups with strong dominance hierarchies are common in mountain gorillas. Theory predicts that androgens should mediate their dominance hierarchies, and potentially vary with the type of group males live in. We validated the use of a testosterone enzyme immunoassay (T‐EIA R156/7, CJ Munro, UC‐Davis) for use with mountain gorilla fecal material by (1) examining individual‐level androgen responses to competitive events, and (2) isolating assay‐specific hormone metabolites via high‐performance liquid chromatography. Males had large (2.6‐ and 6.5‐fold), temporary increases in fecal androgen metabolite (FAM) after competitive events, and most captured metabolites were testosterone or 5α‐dihydrotestosterone‐like androgens. We then examined the relationship between males' dominance ranks, group type, and FAM concentrations. Males in single‐male groups had higher FAM concentrations than males in multimale groups, and a small pool of samples from solitary males suggested they may have lower FAM than group‐living peers. However, data from two different time periods (
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10450087
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- American Journal of Primatology
- Volume:
- 83
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0275-2565
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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