Parasites in a social world: Lessons from primates

Abstract

AbstractSocial behavior and parasitism interconnect at all levels of sociality, from the community to the population and from the group down to the individual. This chapter explores key findings on the parasite-related costs and benefits of sociality, focusing on primates. The research spans across social networks, dominance and affiliative relationships, and individual behavior and physiology, highlighting established links between primate sociality and parasitism and identifying important gaps for future research. Given the use of nuanced conceptual frameworks and new analytical methods, combined with experimental studies and growing empirical data from long-term field projects, primates are a particularly exciting and helpful taxon for studying sociality-parasite interactions.