Among nonhuman primates, females often form strong bonds with kin
and other group members. These relationships are thought to have
adaptive value for females, but direct effects of sociality on fitness
have never been demonstrated. We present 16 years of behavioral data
from a well-studied population of wild baboons, which demonstrate
that sociality of adult females is positively associated with infant
survival, an important component of variation in female lifetime
fitness. The effects of sociality on infant survival are independent
of the effects of dominance rank, group membership, and environmental
conditions. Our results are consistent with the evidence that social
support has beneficial effects on human health and well-being across
the life span. For humans and other primates, sociality has adaptive
value.
%0 Journal Article
%1 Silk2003
%A Silk, Joan B
%A Alberts, Susan C
%A Altmann, Jeanne
%D 2003
%J Science
%K Animals, Animals; Behavior; Dominance; Environment; Female; Grooming; Hierarchy, Kenya; Papio; Rate Reproduction; Social Social; Support; Survival Wild;
%N 5648
%P 1231--1234
%R 10.1126/science.1088580
%T Social bonds of female baboons enhance infant survival.
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1088580
%V 302
%X Among nonhuman primates, females often form strong bonds with kin
and other group members. These relationships are thought to have
adaptive value for females, but direct effects of sociality on fitness
have never been demonstrated. We present 16 years of behavioral data
from a well-studied population of wild baboons, which demonstrate
that sociality of adult females is positively associated with infant
survival, an important component of variation in female lifetime
fitness. The effects of sociality on infant survival are independent
of the effects of dominance rank, group membership, and environmental
conditions. Our results are consistent with the evidence that social
support has beneficial effects on human health and well-being across
the life span. For humans and other primates, sociality has adaptive
value.
@article{Silk2003,
abstract = {Among nonhuman primates, females often form strong bonds with kin
and other group members. These relationships are thought to have
adaptive value for females, but direct effects of sociality on fitness
have never been demonstrated. We present 16 years of behavioral data
from a well-studied population of wild baboons, which demonstrate
that sociality of adult females is positively associated with infant
survival, an important component of variation in female lifetime
fitness. The effects of sociality on infant survival are independent
of the effects of dominance rank, group membership, and environmental
conditions. Our results are consistent with the evidence that social
support has beneficial effects on human health and well-being across
the life span. For humans and other primates, sociality has adaptive
value.},
added-at = {2007-12-16T20:00:22.000+0100},
author = {Silk, Joan B and Alberts, Susan C and Altmann, Jeanne},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2d49637bc9c0e91f700076759f4470abd/perceptron},
doi = {10.1126/science.1088580},
interhash = {195b206d58c52fe623d0dd55daedbde8},
intrahash = {d49637bc9c0e91f700076759f4470abd},
journal = {Science},
keywords = {Animals, Animals; Behavior; Dominance; Environment; Female; Grooming; Hierarchy, Kenya; Papio; Rate Reproduction; Social Social; Support; Survival Wild;},
number = 5648,
pages = {1231--1234},
pii = {302/5648/1231},
pmid = {14615543},
timestamp = {2007-12-16T20:00:26.000+0100},
title = {Social bonds of female baboons enhance infant survival.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1088580},
volume = 302,
year = 2003
}