Gut microbial communities communicate bidirectionally with the brain through endocrine, immune, and neural signaling, influencing the physiology and behavior of hosts. The emerging field of microbial endocrinology offers innovative perspectives and methods to analyze host-microbe relationships with relevance to primate ecology, evolution, and conservation. Herein we briefly summarize key findings from microbial endocrinology and explore how applications of a similar framework could inform our understanding of primate stress and reproductive physiology and behavior. We conclude with three guiding hypotheses to further investigate endocrine signaling between gut microbes and the host: (a) host-microbe communication systems promote microbe-mediated stability, in which the microbes are using endocrine signaling from the host to maintain a functioning habitat for their own fitness, (b) host-microbe communication systems promote host-mediated stability, in which the host uses the endocrine system to monitor microbial communities and alter these communities to maintain stability, or (c) host-microbe systems are simply the product of coincidental cross-talk between the host and microbes due to similar molecules from shared ancestry. Utilizing theory and methodology for studying relationships between the microbiome, hormones, and behavior of wild primates is an uncharted frontier with many promising insights when applied to primatology. K E Y W O R D Smicrobe-hormone interactions, neuroendocrine system, reproduction, stress physiology
Social context may influence the perception of sensory cues and the ability to display refined behavioral responses. Previous work suggests that effective responses to environmental cues can be contingent on having a sufficient number of individuals in a group. Thus, the changes in group size may have profound impacts, particularly on the behavior of small social groups. Using zebrafish (Danio rerio), here we examined how changes in group size influence the ability to respond to changes in water flow. We found that fish in relatively larger groups displayed stronger rheotaxis even when comparing pairs of fish with groups of four fish, indicating that a small increase in group size can enhance the responsiveness to environmental change. Individual fish in relatively larger groups also spent less time in the energetically costly leading position than individuals in pairs, indicating that even a small increase in group size may provide energetic benefits. We also found that the shoal cohesion was dependent on the size of the group but within a given group size, shoal cohesion did not vary with the flow rate. Our study highlights that even a small change in group size could significantly affect the way social fish respond to the changes in water flow, which could be an important attribute that shapes the resilience of social animals in changing environments.
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