EPSCOR: Physiological Stress Responses, Aggression and Social Dominance in Wolves

PI: Creel， Scott这项研究将阐明社会地位如何影响自由生活的狼对压力的行为和生理反应。在对圈养啮齿动物和灵长类动物的研究中，社会从属动物的肾上腺糖皮质激素分泌经常长期增加，这是应激反应的主要成分。最近在野外和圈养环境中对群居鸟类和哺乳动物进行的研究表明，有时优势个体的糖皮质激素水平高于从属个体。目前还不清楚是什么变量决定了物种之间的这些差异。这项研究将从自由放养的狼的粪便样本中收集糖皮质激素的非侵入性测量，并将量化攻击率和其他社会行为，以确定优势、攻击和糖皮质激素应激反应之间的关系。包括人类在内的所有动物都面临着各种各样的压力，从寒冷或饥饿等身体状况到攻击性互动造成的社会心理压力。主要的生理反应是糖皮质激素分泌的增加，而与具体的应激源无关。这种反应在短期内是有益的，但如果延长则是有害的（例如，能量代谢变得低效，免疫系统受损，脑中的神经元萎缩）。由于糖皮质激素对生殖和免疫有很强的影响，社会压力的研究对从进化生物学到人类压力管理等学科都有广泛的影响。

NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Proposal Number 9805571 PI: Creel, Scott This study will clarify how social status affects behavioral and physiological responses to stress in free-living wolves. In studies of captive rodents and primates, social subordinates often show long-term increases in the secretion of adrenal glucocorticoids, a primary constituent of the stress response. Recent studies of social birds and mammals, conducted in the wild and captivity, show that glucocorticoids are sometimes higher in dominant individuals than in subordinates. It is not yet clear what variables determine these differences among species. This research will collect non-invasive measurements of glucocorticoids from fecal samples collected from free ranging wolves, and will quantify rates of aggression and other social behaviors, to determine relationships between dominance, aggression and the glucocorticoid stress response. All animals, including humans, face a variety of stresses, ranging from physical conditions like cold or hunger to psychosocial stress due to aggressive interactions. The primary physiological response is an increase in the secretion of glucocorticoids, regardless of the specific stressor involved. This response is beneficial in the short term, but is harmful if prolonged (e.g. energy metabolism becomes inefficient, the immune system is impaired, and neurons in the brain atrophy). Because glucocorticoids have strong effects on reproduction and immunity, the study of social stress has broad ramifications for disciplines ranging from evolutionary biology to human stress management.