The oxidative cost of unstable social dominance

Abstract

High social rank is expected to incur fitness costs under unstable social conditions. A disruption of the oxidative balance may underlie such effects, but how markers of oxidative stress vary in relation to social rank and stability is unknown. We examined in mandrills whether the mating season characterized by social instability between males (but not between females) affected their oxidative balance differently according to their social rank. Outside the mating season, high-ranking males showed the lowest levels of oxidative damage, while during the mating season, they were the only males to experience increased oxidative damage. In contrast, the mating season increased oxidative stress in all females, irrespective of their social rank. These results support the hypothesis that the coupling between social rank and social stability is responsible for differential costs in terms of oxidative stress, which may explain inter-individual differences in susceptibility to socially induced health issues.