Socioecological Niches Research Articles

Similarities in affiliation and aggression between cross-fostered rhesus macaque females and their biological mothers.

In female-bonded primate species, there is cross-generational consistency in female affiliative and aggressive behavior. This consistency could be the result of maternal effects, offspring learning, shared environment, and/or direct genetic inheritance of behavioral or psychological traits. In this study, I investigated possible similarities in affiliation and aggression between cross-fostered rhesus macaque females and their biological mothers. Ten female infants were cross-fostered at birth, and selected aspects of their affiliative and agonistic behavior over the course of their first 3 years of life were compared to the behavior of their foster and biological mothers. Average offspring rates of social contact and aggression across the 3 years, and in particular in Years 2 and 3, resembled those of their biological mothers whereas no clear behavioral similarities between offspring and foster mothers were observed at any age. Heritable variation in female social behavior may be maintained by natural selection and leads to adaptation to different socioecological niches within macque populations.

Socioecological stressor areas and black-white blood pressure: Detroit

1. 1. Blood pressure does appear to vary with ‘socioecological niches’ or combinations of sex, race and residence, which reflect social class position as well as degree of social stressor conditions. Black High Stress males had higher adjusted levels than Black Low Stress males, while White High Stress females had higher adjusted pressures than White Low Stress females. Black High Stress females had significantly higher observed levels than Black Low Stress females. 2. 2. Black High Stress males had a significantly higher per cent of Borderline and Hypertensive blood pressure than other male race-area groups; White Low Stress females had the lowest of all eight sex-race-stress area groups. 3. 3. For Black males, the younger, overweight High Stress residents had significantly higher Borderline and Hypertensive levels than did a similar Black Low Stress subgroup. Further, for both groups, being raised in Detroit and not migrating from elsewhere was related to higher readings. Tests for age-stress area interaction, however, were not significant.