CSF 5-HIAA concentration as an early screening tool for predicting significant life history outcomes in female specific-pathogen-free (SPF) rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) maintained in captive breeding groups.
We examined relationships among cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the major serotonin metabolite (5-HIAA, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) and significant medical and behavioral outcomes for female rhesus macaques. Based on earlier findings with males we predicted that low CSF 5-HIAA concentrations would be associated with a range of negative life history outcomes in our captive specific-pathogen-free (SPF) breeding colony. We found that the mean CSF 5-HIAA concentration among animals that died over the course of the study period was significantly lower than among animals that survived. Further examination indicated an inverse relationship between CSF 5-HIAA concentration and number of treatments for illness, further suggesting a link between serotonergic functioning and overall animal health. Examination of behavioral data indicated that individuals with low CSF 5-HIAA concentrations were more often the targets of aggressive bouts than were individuals with high CSF 5-HIAA concentrations. Finally, we found a positive relationship between CSF 5-HIAA concentration and infant survivorship. These results suggest negative life history consequences of impaired serotonergic functioning in captive female rhesus macaques, and indicate that CSF 5-HIAA concentration sampled early in life may provide a useful tool in facilitating colony management decisions concerning utilization of scarce and increasingly valuable non-human primate resources.
Westergaard
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GC
Division of Research and Development, LABS of Virginia, Inc., 95 Castle Hall Road, PO Box 557, Yemassee, SC 29945, USA. gwprimate@netscape.net
Cleveland
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A
Trenkle
M K
MK
Lussier
I D
ID
Higley
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JD
D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000502:physiology*; D009026:Mortality; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D012930:Social Dominance; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid