Supplemental Tables 4-10 from Agonism and grooming behaviour explain social status effects on physiology and gene regulation in rhesus macaques

Variation in social status predicts molecular, physiological and life-history outcomes across a broad range of species, including our own. Experimental studies indicate that some of these relationships persist even when the physical environment is held constant. Here, we draw on datasets from one such study—experimental manipulation of dominance rank in captive female rhesus macaques—to investigate how social status shapes the lived experience of these animals to alter gene regulation, glucocorticoid physiology and mitochondrial DNA phenotypes. We focus specifically on dominance rank-associated dimensions of the social environment, including both competitive and affiliative interactions. Our results show that simple summaries of rank-associated behavioural interactions are often better predictors of molecular and physiological outcomes than dominance rank itself. However, while measures of immune function are best explained by agonism rates, glucocorticoid-related phenotypes tend to be more closely linked to affiliative behaviour. We conclude that dominance rank serves as a useful summary for investigating social environmental effects on downstream outcomes. Nevertheless, the behavioural interactions that define an individual's daily experiences reveal the proximate drivers of social status-related differences and are especially relevant for understanding why individuals who share the same social status sometimes appear physiologically distinct.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

社会地位差异可预测包括人类在内的众多物种的分子层面、生理层面以及生活史相关结局。多项实验研究表明，即便物理环境保持恒定，部分此类关联仍会存续。本研究依托一项相关实验的数据集——针对圈养雌性恒河猴（rhesus macaques）优势等级的操控实验——探究社会地位如何通过塑造该类动物的日常体验，进而改变其基因调控、糖皮质激素（glucocorticoid）生理状态以及线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA）表型。本研究特别聚焦于社会环境中与优势等级相关的维度，涵盖竞争性与亲和性两类社交互动。研究结果显示，相较于单纯的优势等级本身，对与等级相关的行为互动进行的简单概括，往往能更好地预测分子与生理层面的结局。不过，免疫功能指标的变异最佳可由争斗行为（agonism）频率解释，而与糖皮质激素相关的表型则更密切地关联于亲和性行为。本研究结论认为，优势等级可作为一项有效概括指标，用于探究社会环境对下游结局的影响。尽管如此，塑造个体日常体验的行为互动，揭示了社会地位相关差异的近端驱动因素，这对于理解为何社会地位相同的个体有时会表现出生理差异尤为关键。本文属于“啄序研究百年：优势等级研究的现状与未来展望”专题刊的组成部分。