Cost and benefits of being social: examining the influence of sociality on faecal parasites in free-ranging rhesus macaques

Parasites and infectious diseases constitute an important challenge to the health of group-living animals. Social contact and shared space can both increase disease transmission risk, while individual differences in social resources can help prevent infections. For example, high social status individuals and those with more or stronger social relationships may have better immunity and, thus, lower parasitic burden. To test for health trade-offs in the costs and benefits of sociality, we quantified how parasitic load varied with an individual’s social status, as well as with their weak and strong affiliative relationships in a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Social resources may also protect against infection under environmentally challenging situations, such as natural disasters. We additionally examined the impact of a major hurricane on the sociality-parasite relationship in this system. We found that both weak and strong proximity partners, but not grooming partners, were associated with lower protozoa infection risk. Social status was not linked to infection risk, even after the hurricane. Overall, our study highlights the buffering against infection that affiliative partners may provide, suggesting individuals can compensate for the health costs of sociality by having partners who tolerate their presence.