Resting cortisol levels and the emergence of dominant status among male vervet monkeys.

Resting serum cortisol was measured in adult male vervet monkeys (Cercopithicus aethiops sabaeus) in four different conditions: (1) among groups with unaltered group membership and established dominance hierarchies; (2) among groups from which the original dominant male had been removed and in which the remaining males competed for dominant status; (3) among newly formed groups of three unfamiliar males each of which had been the dominant male in his previous group; and (4) among groups from which a dominant male was temporarily separated and returned. In Condition 1, cortisol concentrations did not differ between dominant and subordinate males. The second condition showed that cortisol levels were highest among males who eventually emerged as the dominant male. In the third condition, however, cortisol levels did not differentiate eventually dominant from eventually subordinate males. In the last condition, cortisol levels were highest in the animals that became or remained dominant following reintroduction. These data indicate that cortisol concentration does not differ between dominant and subordinate males in stable groups and that cortisol rises during competition for dominance among familiar males.