Patricia Whitten
Publications
Major Current Research Projects
Frans de Waal, Filippo Aureli, Yerkes Primate Research Center & Psychology Dept., Emory
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Excreted cortisol as a noninvasive measure of well-being in chimpanzees This work provides the biological measures for a large NIH grant of deWaal to Emory.
Noninvasive measures of stress in capuchin monkeys We have demonstrated that our cortisol assay, previously used only in Old World primates, can be successfully applied to fecal extracts from capuchins. Working with Molly Embre, a graduate student in psychobiology, we are beginning to examine the relationship between fecal cortisol and rank changes in samples from capuchin monkeys.
Jay Kaplan, Division of Comparative Medicine, Bowman Gray Medical School
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Noninvasive measures of social stress in longtailed macaques We have carried out preliminary tests of excreted cortisol as a measure of rank-related chronic stress and plan further collaborations to look at hormone-behavior relationships. This work also has demonstrated the reliability of a sample marking method that will aid the identification of individual samples.
Max Lang, James Crowell, Division of Research Resources, NIH
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Noninvasive measures of animal well-being We have carried out tests of excreted cortisol as a measure of well-being in rhesus macaques. Further investigations with monkeys are planned. We have validated the measurement of excreted corticosterone in rats and conducted preliminary tests of its relation to stress.
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Socioendocrinology of Madagascan sifaka We are continuing our long-term collaborations with Brockman and Richard. We have collected pair serum and fecal samples over ovarian cycles of two captive female sifaka housed at Duke and are currently assessing the correspondance between estradiol and progesterone concentrations in the paired samples. Heather Beaupret, a PBEE graduate student, has spent the spring and summer analyzing testosterone and cortisol concentrations in fecal extracts from five females collected during the breeding season in Madagascar. This work is yielding exciting new information on the endocrinology of female dominance and the role of male-female aggression in ovulation and conception.
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Ecological patterning of androgen secretion Advances in genetic technology have allowed us to revisit blood samples collected from a survey of vervet monkeys at several troops in several different habitat types in Kenya. These analyses provide new insights into patterns of genetic diversity and paternity. The sensitive microassays we use in our endocrine research also provide an opportunity to address questions about the influence of ecology and individual life history on hormonal response and its relation to aspects of social structure such as intermale tolerance.
Whitten & Meg Buck, ABD, Emory University
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Endocrinology of mate choice in sooty mangabeys We received very positive reviews for an NSF application to combine behavioral and endocrine data in the study of female choice in captive mangabeys. We have carried out further tests to answer reviewers' concerns and plan a resubmission in the near future.
Tom Struhsaker, Duke University
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HPLC-based analysis of phytoestrogen content of red colobus foods
Jane Phillips-Conroy, Washington University School of Medicine
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We have just received stool samples collected from male anubis and hamadryas baboons living along a species border in Ethiopia. We will be examining fecal testosterone to determine if differences in testosterone concentrations parallel the interspecific differences in mating and competitive strategies and social structure.
Recent Publications
Whitten PL, Lewis C, Russell E, Naftolin F 1995 Potential adverse effects of phytoestrogens. J Nutrition 125:771S-776S. Whitten PL 1995 Sexing prehistoric human remains by fecal steroid analysis. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 96 (abstract). Stavisky RC, Russell E, Stallings J, Smith EO, Worthman C, Whitten PL 1995 Fecal steroid analysis of ovarian cycles in free-ranging baboons. American Journal of Primatology 36:285-297. Brockman DK, Whitten PL, Russell E, Richard AF, Izard MK 1995 Application of fecal steroid techniques to the reproductive endocrinology of Verreauxi's sifaka, Propithecus verreauxi. American Journal of Primatology 36:316-325. Cavigelli S, Pereira M, Whitten PL 1995 Fecal testosterone and sociosexual behavior in ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Annual Meeting of the Animal Behaviour Society (Abstract). Brockman DK, Whitten PL 1996 Reproduction in free-ranging Propithecus verreauxi: Estrus and the relationship between multiple mating partners and fertilization. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 100:57-70. Whitten PL, Russell E 1996 Information content of sexual swellings and fecal steroids in sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus atys). American Journal of Primatology 40:67-82. Sobolik KD, Gremillion KJ, Whitten PL, Watson PJ 1996 Sex determination of prehistoric human paleofeces. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 101:283-290. Whitten PL, Kudo S, Okubo KK 1997 Isoflavonoids. CRC Handbook of Plant and Fungal Toxins, ed. by J. P. by Felix D'Mello. CRC Press Inc, New York, NY, pp. 117-137. Whitten PL In press Evolutionary endocrinology of the cercopithecoids. In: Old World Monkeys, edited by P. Whitehead and C. Jolly, Cambridge University Press.
Stavisky R, Whitten PL, Aureli F, Russell E In press Fecal cortisol levels and acute stress in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). American Journal of Primatology.
Brockman DK, Whitten PL, Schneider A, Richard AF In press Reproduction in free-ranging male Propithecus verreauxi: A pilot study of the hormonal correlates of mating and aggression. American Journal of Physical Anthropology.