Improving the Delivery of Key Work Supports: Policy & Practice Opportunities at a Critical Moment

Examines the consequences of a lack of coordination and seamless service delivery across support programs. Outlines policy, procedural, and data utilization options and best practices to expedite receipt of benefits across programs, as well as challenges

Sociosexuality, testosterone, and life history status: Prospective associations and longitudinal changes among men in Cebu, Philippines

Sociosexuality is defined as an individual\u27s interest in uncommitted sexual activity and can be measured in terms of both psychological orientations and behavioral expression. In socio-ecological contexts in which adults monogamously partner and cooperate to raise children, individuals with unrestricted sociosexuality are likely to prioritize mating/competition over committed partnering and parenting. Given the importance of mother-father cooperation in the evolutionary past, humans may have the capacity to facultatively and opportunistically downregulate sociosexuality to focus on priorities related to invested partnering and parenting. To date, no prior studies have used longitudinal data to track within-individuals changes in sociosexuality as it relates to such life history transitions. Given the lack of prior longitudinal research in this area, it is likewise unknown what physiological mechanisms might mediate within-individual changes in sociosexuality through time but testosterone is a plausible candidate. To explore these questions, we drew on a large, long-running study of Filipino men (n=288), who were single non-fathers at 25.9 years of age and were followed up 4–5 years later. We found that men with more unrestricted sociosexuality at baseline were more likely to experience relationship dissolution by follow-up, consistent with past work. Compared to men who remained single non-fathers at follow-up, men who became married residential fathers showed shifts towards more restricted global sociosexuality as well as sociosexual behavior. Relative to their own baseline values, married residential fathers also had more restricted sociosexuality in all domains at follow-up. They were the only group for whom this was found. We found theoretically-consistent but modest support for positive correlations between men\u27s testosterone and their sociosexuality, but no evidence that the two change in tandem together through time. Our results suggest that some amount of between-individual differences in sociosexuality are not stable and can facultatively shift alongside other aspects of male reproductive effort

Evolutionary life history theory as an organising framework for cohort studies : insights from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey

By tracking a group of individuals through time, cohort studies provide fundamental insights into the developmental time course and causes of health and disease. Evolutionary life history theory seeks to explain patterns of growth, development, reproduction and senescence, and inspires a range of hypotheses that are testable using the longitudinal data from cohort studies. Here we review two decades of life history theory-motivated work conducted in collaboration with the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS), a birth cohort study that enrolled more than 3000 pregnant women in the Philippines in 1983 and has since followed these women, their offspring and grandoffspring. This work has provided evidence that reproduction carries “costs” to cellular maintenance functions, potentially speeding senescence, and revealed an unusual form of genetic plasticity in which the length of telomeres inherited across generations is influenced by reproductive timing in paternal ancestors. Men in Cebu experience hormonal and behavioural changes in conjunction with changes in relationship and fatherhood status that are consistent with predictions based upon other species that practice bi-parental care. The theoretical expectation that early life cues of mortality or environmental unpredictability will motivate a “fast” life history strategy are confirmed for behavioural components of reproductive decision making, but not for maturational tempo, while our work points to a broader capacity for early life developmental calibration of systems like immunity, reproductive biology and metabolism. Our CLHNS findings illustrate the power of life history theory as an integrative, lifecourse framework to guide longitudinal studies of human populations

Who's your daddy? The causes and consequences of male-immature relationships in wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Among mammals, humans are unusual for their bi-parental care. Expensive gametes, gestation, and lactation necessitate the Phylum-typical extensive female investment, but in all cultures across the globe men take part in caring for children. The form, duration, and extent of their care varies, but it is nonetheless a human universal. Across the primate order, about 40% of species provide male care of immatures in some form. The majority of studies of male parenting in our closest extant relatives have taken place in a few small-bodied, monogamous or polyandrous species of New World monkeys, the Callithricids. While highly informative, the social structure and ecology of these species bears little resemblance to that of modern-day humans or the hominins who shared our recent evolutionary past. By studying male-immature relationships in primates that are more closely related to us and that live in social systems closer to "species-typical" (i.e. highly flexible) for Homo sapiens, we can get a clearer picture of the evolution of male care and investment in offspring. The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is an excellent model for examining the form and function of such relationships in a close human relative. The genus Gorilla split from the genus Homo ~10 million years ago. Although not our closest living relative, Gorilla beringei is one of the few primates species besides humans in which both males and females can either reproduce in their natal group or disperse. For years they were described as strictly polygnous with one male and multiple females in each group, but after 47 years of research we now know that they are also capable of remarkabe flexibility in their social system. About 40% of the the gorillas monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's Karisoke Research Center in the Virunga Massif in central Africa occur in multi-male, multi-female groups. In mountain gorilla groups, male-immature relationships are conspicuous for their closeness. Males are highly tolerant of young animals, and immatures often cluster around adult males as soon as they are old enough to be independently mobile. Besides their mother, an adult male (usually but not always the dominant animal) is typically an immature's closest adult social partner. Adult males are key to infant survival, protecting them from infanticidal outsiders, and probably historically, predators as well. In this dissertation, I examine 1) whether males and immatures are capable of discriminating paternity in multi-male, multi-female groups; 2) if, and how, mother gorillas facilitate relationship development between their infants and a protective adult male(s); and 3) whether social preferences early in an immature's life for certain adult males predict their social preferences at two later developmental stages, including young adulthood. Together, these chapters give us a more nuanced understanding of male parenting behavior and its evolutionary implications in one of our closest living relatives, Gorilla beringei

Envir_GrpCharact_Stress_upload_Dryad

The file contains the response variable (monthly mean fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels N=1,094), fixed effects (ecological and social factors), and random effects (groups and gorillas ID) entered in the GLMM as described in the manuscript

Data from: Social and ecological factors alter stress physiology of Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Living in a rapidly changing environment can alter stress physiology at the population level, with negative impacts on health, reproductive rates, and mortality that may ultimately result in species decline. Small, isolated animal populations where genetic diversity is low are at particular risks, such as endangered Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Along with climate change‐associated environmental shifts that are affecting the entire population, subpopulations of the Virunga gorillas have recently experienced extreme changes in their social environment. As the growing population moves closer to the forest's carrying capacity, the gorillas are coping with rising population density, increased frequencies of interactions between social units, and changing habitat use (e.g., more overlapping home ranges and routine ranging at higher elevations). Using noninvasive monitoring of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) on 115 habituated Virunga gorillas, we investigated how social and ecological variation are related to baseline FGM levels, to better understand the adaptive capacity of mountain gorillas and monitor potential physiological indicators of population decline risks. Generalized linear mixed models revealed elevated mean monthly baseline FGM levels in months with higher rainfall and higher mean maximum and minimum temperature, suggesting that Virunga gorillas might be sensitive to predicted warming and rainfall trends involving longer, warmer dry seasons and more concentrated and extreme rainfall occurrences. Exclusive use of smaller home range areas was linked to elevated baseline FGM levels, which may reflect reduced feeding efficiency and increased travel efforts to actively avoid neighboring groups. The potential for additive effects of stress‐inducing factors could have short‐ and long‐term impacts on the reproduction, health, and ultimately survival of the Virunga gorilla population. The ongoing effects of environmental changes and population dynamics must be closely monitored and used to develop effective long‐term conservation strategies that can help address these risk factors

La estructura del grupo predice la variación en las relaciones de proximidad entre parejas de gorilas de montaña macho-hembra y macho-bebé (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Las relaciones entre conespecíficos están influenciadas tanto por factores ecológicos como por la organización social en la que viven. La variación sistemática de ambos, consistente con las predicciones derivadas de modelos socioecológicos, está bien documentada, pero existe una variación considerable dentro de las especies y poblaciones que no se comprende bien. El gorila de montaña ( Gorilla beringei) es inusual porque, a pesar de poseer una morfología asociada con la competencia de competencia masculina (por ejemplo, dimorfismo sexual extremo), se observan regularmente tanto en grupos de un solo macho como de varios machos. Tanto los lazos entre hombres y mujeres como entre hombres y bebés son fuertes porque los hombres brindan protección contra el infanticidio y / o la depredación. El riesgo de estas amenazas varía con la estructura social, lo que puede influir en la fuerza de las relaciones sociales entre los miembros del grupo (incluidas las mujeres y la descendencia, si las mujeres con menor riesgo de mortalidad infantil protegen menos a los bebés). Aquí, investigamos la relación entre la estructura del grupo y la fuerza de las relaciones de proximidad entre machos y hembras, machos e infantes y hembras y descendencia. Los datos provienen de 10 grupos sociales que contienen de 1 a 7 hombres adultos, monitoreado por el Centro de Investigación Karisoke del Fondo Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund en el Parque Nacional de los Volcanes, Ruanda. Después de controlar el tamaño del grupo y la edad del bebé, la fuerza de la asociación fue similar para las parejas de hombres y mujeres en los tipos de grupos con hombres dominantes y no dominantes, pero las relaciones entre hombres y bebés fueron más fuertes en los grupos de hombres solteros donde la certeza de paternidad era alta y los animales tenían menos relaciones sociales. socios para elegir. Las proporciones de hombres: mujeres y hombres: lactantes predijeron mejor las asociaciones entre hombres y mujeres y entre hombres y bebés que el número absoluto de hombres, mujeres o bebés. Cuanto menor es el número de machos por hembra o bebé, más se asocian ambos tipos de parejas. Los machos dominantes en grupos que contenían menos machos tenían una mayor centralidad de vector propio (una medida de importancia en una red social) que los machos dominantes en grupos con más machos.Relationships between conspecifics are influenced by both ecological factors and the social organization they live in. Systematic variation of both—consistent with predictions derived from socioecology models—is well documented, but there is considerable variation within species and populations that is poorly understood. The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei) is unusual because, despite possessing morphology associated with male contest competition (e.g., extreme sexual dimorphism), they are regularly observed in both single-male and multimale groups. Both male–female and male–infant bonds are strong because males provide protection against infanticide and/or predation. Risk of these threats varies with social structure, which may influence the strength of social relationships among group members (including females and offspring, if females with lower infant mortality risk are less protective of infants). Here, we investigate the relationship between group structure and the strength of proximity relationships between males and females, males and infants, and females and offspring. Data come from 10 social groups containing 1–7 adult males, monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s Karisoke Research Center in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. After controlling for group size and infant age, association strength was similar for male–female pairs across group types with both dominant and nondominant males, but male–infant relationships were strongest in single-male groups where paternity certainty was high and animals had fewer social partners to choose from. The male:female and male:infant ratios better predicted both male–female and male–infant associations than the absolute number of males, females, or infants did. The fewer the number of males per female or infant, the more both pair types associated. Dominant males in groups containing fewer males had higher eigenvector centrality (a measure of importance in a social network) than dominant males in groups with more males. Results indicate that nondominant males are an important influence on relationships between dominant males and females/infants despite their peripheral social positions, and that relationships between males and infants must be considered an important foundation of gorilla social structure

Sociosexuality, testosterone, and life history status: Prospective associations and longitudinal changes among men in Cebu, Philippines

Sociosexuality is defined as an individual\u27s interest in uncommitted sexual activity and can be measured in terms of both psychological orientations and behavioral expression. In socio-ecological contexts in which adults monogamously partner and cooperate to raise children, individuals with unrestricted sociosexuality are likely to prioritize mating/competition over committed partnering and parenting. Given the importance of mother-father cooperation in the evolutionary past, humans may have the capacity to facultatively and opportunistically downregulate sociosexuality to focus on priorities related to invested partnering and parenting. To date, no prior studies have used longitudinal data to track within-individuals changes in sociosexuality as it relates to such life history transitions. Given the lack of prior longitudinal research in this area, it is likewise unknown what physiological mechanisms might mediate within-individual changes in sociosexuality through time but testosterone is a plausible candidate. To explore these questions, we drew on a large, long-running study of Filipino men (n=288), who were single non-fathers at 25.9 years of age and were followed up 4–5 years later. We found that men with more unrestricted sociosexuality at baseline were more likely to experience relationship dissolution by follow-up, consistent with past work. Compared to men who remained single non-fathers at follow-up, men who became married residential fathers showed shifts towards more restricted global sociosexuality as well as sociosexual behavior. Relative to their own baseline values, married residential fathers also had more restricted sociosexuality in all domains at follow-up. They were the only group for whom this was found. We found theoretically-consistent but modest support for positive correlations between men\u27s testosterone and their sociosexuality, but no evidence that the two change in tandem together through time. Our results suggest that some amount of between-individual differences in sociosexuality are not stable and can facultatively shift alongside other aspects of male reproductive effort

Cumulative early-life adversity does not predict reduced adult longevity in wild gorillas

Extensive research across fields has repeatedly confirmed that early-life adversity (ELA) is a major selective force for many taxa, in part via its ties to adult health and longevity.1,2,3 Negative effects of ELA on adult outcomes have been documented in a wide range of species, from fish to birds to humans.4 We used 55 years of long-term data collected on 253 wild mountain gorillas to examine the effects of six putative sources of ELA on survival, both individually and cumulatively. Although cumulative ELA was associated with high mortality in early life, we found no evidence that it had detrimental consequences for survival later in life. Experiencing three or more forms of ELA was associated with greater longevity, with a 70% reduction in the risk of death across adulthood, driven specifically by greater longevity in males. Although this higher survival in later life is likely a consequence of sex-specific viability selection5 during early life due to the immediate mortality consequences of adverse experiences, patterns in our data also suggest that gorillas have significant resilience to ELA. Our findings demonstrate that the detrimental consequences of ELA on later life survival are not universal, and indeed largely absent in one of humans’ closest living relatives. This raises important questions about the biological roots of sensitivity to early experiences and the protective mechanisms that contribute to resiliency in gorillas, which could be critical for understanding how best to encourage similar resiliency to early-life shocks in humans