Temperature-Related Differences in Hair Cortisol Among Outdoor-Housed Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta).

ABSTRACT: Temperature has a known potential to influence glucocorticoid concentrations obtained from fecal samples in nonhuman primates. Studies reliant on hair cortisol estimates obtained using samples from outdoor subjects, however, may not control for temperature. This omission is despite the general utility of hair as a sample matrix with relatively longer periods of accrual time. We examined these dynamics in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta); importantly, this population of rhesus macaques exhibits covariation between season and breeding behavior. Thus, we also examined temperature relative to contributions of social behavior associated with breeding seasons, which may coincide with climatic shifts. We utilized 1921 hair samples from 580 subjects across six large outdoor-housed mixed-sex groups

SUBMITTER: Pritchard AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11970219 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature