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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01nz805z791
Title: The Effects of Prenatal Stress on the Life History Success of Male Yellow Baboons (Papio cynocephalus)
Authors: Kang, Min-Young
Advisors: Altmann, Jeanne
Department: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Class Year: 2013
Abstract: Perturbations in the maternal environment are thought to have enduring consequences for a developing fetus. Maternal stress in particular has been implicated for various long-term behavioral and physiological disturbances in adulthood. This study investigated how a mother’s experience of (1) social stress, as measured by her dominance rank and (2) ecological stress of high temperature and low rainfall affect a son’s life history success in a wild population of baboons (Papio cynocephalus) of Amboseli, Kenya. Social stress deriving from low maternal rank in a dominance hierarchy consistently predicted developmental delays and higher testosterone levels in sons. Ecological stressors however seemed to prime sons for faster reproductive activity, as evidenced by greater peripubertal testosterone levels and earlier ages of sexual maturation. Further, prenatally stressed sons experienced delays in wound healing. These outcomes suggest that maternal experience of stress during pregnancy has long-term consequences on offspring lifetime fitness.
Extent: 60 pages
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01nz805z791
Access Restrictions: Walk-in Access. This thesis can only be viewed on computer terminals at the Mudd Manuscript Library.
Type of Material: Princeton University Senior Theses
Language: en_US
Appears in Collections:Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 1992-2023

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