Pituitary--adrenal response to capture in Cayo Santiago--derived group M rhesus monkeys

Abstract

113 rhesus monkeys, representing 4 age classes, 3 matrilines, and immigrant adult males in a 161-member Cayo Santiago-derived troop living in a 2-acre enclosure, were sampled for levels of plasma ACTH and cortisol during a period of capture and brief cage confinement for routine veterinary examination. ACTH levels showed significant decreases over initially high values following capture in all subjects except infants, whereas cortisol levels remained elevated throughout the sampling period. Members of the lowest-ranking matriline had significantly higher ACTH levels than members of the other matrilines and immigrant males. Infants and juveniles exhibited higher cortisol levels than adolescent and adult monkeys. The overall pattern of results was generally consistent with previous findings from laboratory studies, providing not only evidence of generality across conditions and subject populations but also the basis for more detailed subsequent analyses of the relationship between pituitary-adrenocortical responsiveness, behavioral response to challenge, and age-sex-dominance status in wild-born rhesus monkeys.