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

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

SUBMITTER: Tkaczynski PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10214342 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature