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Zusatztext ... a structured and thoughtful synthesis of a field that has never before been unified ... On the whole, the publication of this book marks, if not the birth of a new field, its transition from childhood into adolescence. Informationen zum Autor Charles Nunn is a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California in Berkeley, USA. His research interests include primate behaviour, disease ecology and comparative biology.Sonia Altizer is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Ecology of the University of Georgia, USA . Her research focuses on the ecology and evolution of host-pathogen interactions in wild animal populations. Klappentext 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. Zusammenfassung Recent progress in the field of wildlife disease ecology demonstrates that infectious disease plays a crucial role in the lives of wild animals. Parasites and pathogens should be especially important for social animals in which high contact among individuals increases the potential for disease spread. As one of the best studied mammalian groups, primates offer a unique opportunity to examine how complex behaviours (including social organization) influence the risk of acquiring infectious diseases, and the defences used by animals to avoid infection. This book explores the correlates of disease risk in primates, including not only social and mating behaviour but also diet, habitat use, life history, geography and phylogeny. The authors examine how a core set of host and parasite traits influence patterns of parasitism at three levels of biological organization: among individuals, among populations, and across species. A major goal is to synthesize, for the first time, four disparate areas of research: primate behavioural ecology, parasite biology, wildlife epidemiology, and the behavioural and immune defences employed by animals to counter infectious disease. Throughout, the authors provide an overview of the remarkable diversity of infectious agents found in wild primate populations. Additional chapters consider how knowledge of infectious diseases in wild primates can inform efforts focused on primate conservation and human health. More generally, this book identifies infectious disease as an important frontier in our understanding of primate behaviour and ecology. It highlights future challenges for testing the links between host and parasite traits, including hypotheses for the effects of disease on primate social and mating systems. Inhaltsverzeichnis 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 ...
