After more than one year of hard work, “Parasites in a Social World: Lessons from Primates” is finally on paper and available for purchase! Published by Oxford Academics, it represents the collaborative work of many PhD students belonging to the SoHaPi research group (Sociality and Health in Primates).
Our contribution is part of the book Animal Behaviour and Parasitism, edited by Vanessa Ezenwa, Sonia M. Altizer, and Richard Hall. This book examines the many ways in which animal behavior and parasitism are interlinked, emphasizing the critical role of bi-directional feedbacks between the two phenomena. The chapters explore five central themes (social behavior, movement behavior, sexual selection and mating behavior, parasite modification of host behavior, and behavior defenses against parasites) by synthesizing current knowledge and proposing new research directions for the future.
Abstract of “Parasites in a Social World: Lessons from Primates“
Social 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.
Simone Anzà, PhD — Life Science Researcher 