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In combination with predation and competition for resources, infectious disease is a key ecological factor that influences the evolution of animal mating and social systems. Although recent studies have begun to illuminate the central role that infectious disease plays in the lives of some mammals, surprisingly little is yet known or has been written about its influence on the complex mating and social systems of primates, including humans. The book is indeed timely. Infectious disease represents the last frontier in our understanding of primate socioecology, and a first synthesis will be eagerly received. It will be suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in the fields of behavioural ecology, primatology, conservation biology, biological anthropology, public health and wildlife epidemiology.
1. Questions, Terminology, and Underlying Principles; 2. Diversity and Characteristics of Primate Parasites; 3. Primate Socioecology and Disease Risk: Predictions and Rationale; 4. Host-Parasite Dynamics and Epidemiological Principles; 5. Host Defenses: The Immune System and Behavioral Counterstrategies; 6. Infectious Disease and Primate Social Systems; 7. Parasites and Primate Conservation; 8. From Nonhuman Primates to Human Health and Evolution; 9. Concluding Remarks and Future Directions
This innovative book provides a comprehensive synthesis of the emerging and topical field of disease ecology. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to those with a passion for diseases or primates. Raina K. Plowright, TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution (2006)
