Matrilineal behavioral and physiological changes following the death of a non-alpha matriarch in rhesus macaque

In many species, the loss of alpha matriarchs is associated with a number of negative outcomes such as troop fission, eviction, wounding, and reduced vitality. However, whether the dramatic consequences of their loss are due to their role as an old experienced figure or to their alpha status remains unclear. In a retrospective study, we tested that in a semi-free ranging colony of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), the removal of a non-alpha matriarch, who had a large set of kin, led to changes in behavior and physiological stress within her matriline. Following her removal, her matriline increased in aggression, vigilance, and social grooming. Additionally, hierarchical stability, measured by levels of rank changes, decreased within her matriline, and levels of intense aggression by high-ranking animals were more frequent, as well as matrilineal wounding. Although ordinal rank was positively associated with higher chronic hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) in the months before the matriarch’s removal, following her removal, only those who experienced large increases in rank within her matriline displayed higher HCCs. Changes in matrilineal stability, aggression, behavior, and HCCs within the other two matrilines in the troop were not evident, although caution is needed due to the small sample sizes. We conclude that the removal of the non-alpha matriarch led to matrilineal instability, characterized by higher levels of aggression and subsequent vigilance, rank changes, physiological stress, and grooming. We suggest that non-alpha matriarchs with a large number of kin and social support can be integral to the stability of matrilines.Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1ZIAHD001107- 3

Snakes, Snakebites, and Humans

Indiana Jones is a fictional intrepid archeologist who, in a series of Hollywood movies starting in the early 1980s, faced a variety of perils. He dodged bullets, faced evildoers, and escaped cunning traps set by ancient civilizations to protect assorted treasures. But in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he seems to meet his match: “Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?” he rants, after dropping a torch into a chamber full of nonvenomous snakes, legless lizards, and animatronic ophidians (rest assured, he escapes intact, having achieved his mission and shown us yet again how scary snakes are). Thirty-five years later and reporting the recent scientific discovery (Dinets 2017) that Cuban boas (Chilabothrus angulifer) positioning themselves to hunt cave bats take into account where other snakes are located, the mass media report (McKirdy 2017) began with a similar sentiment: “Get ready to update your nightmares.” Snakes consistently get a bad rap in the Western world and elsewhere, but this is not a universal viewpoint (Morris and Morris 1965; Pandey et al. 2016). How snakes are perceived is one of three main topics we cover in this chapter. We begin by updating data on snakebites around the world, treating developed countries separately from the developing world because of differences in reliability of statistics, prevalence of bites, and efficacy of treatment. We use the same separation in the next section, where we discuss the current knowledge about treatment of snakebite. Finally, we return to public perceptions and folkloristic depictions of snakes around the world