Social affiliation matters: both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships predict survival in wild female baboons.

ABSTRACT: Social integration and support can have profound effects on human survival. The extent of this phenomenon in non-human animals is largely unknown, but such knowledge is important to understanding the evolution of both lifespan and sociality. Here, we report evidence that levels of affiliative social behaviour (i.e. 'social connectedness') with both same-sex and opposite-sex conspecifics predict adult survival in wild female baboons. In the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya, adult female baboons that were socially connected to either adult males or adult females lived longer than females who were socially isolated from both sexes--females with strong connectedness to individuals of both sexes lived the longest. Female social connectedness to males was predicted by high dominance rank, indicating

SUBMITTER: Archie EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4173677 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature