Social Barriers to Pathogen Transmission in Wild Animal Populations

Loehle, Craig

doi:10.2307/1941192

Cited by 473 publications

(469 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Promiscuity is likely to be a driving factor leading to systemic differences in the primate immune system (Nunn et al, 2000), as well as the rate of molecular evolution of genes impacting immune function (Wlasiuk and Nachman, 2010). This raises expectations that mating system, and in particular promiscuity, may influence the composition of vaginal microbiomes both directly and indirectly, which in turn may have a role in shaping the evolution of mating behavior (Immerman, 1986;Loehle, 1995;Thrall et al, 1997Thrall et al, , 2000Kokko et al, 2002;Sharon et al, 2010). Interestingly, primate vaginal microbiomes appeared unaffected by factors such as diet or captivity (see Supplementary Information), unlike primate gut microbiota Amato, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

et al. 2014

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Bacterial communities colonizing the reproductive tracts of primates (including humans) impact the health, survival and fitness of the host, and thereby the evolution of the host species. Despite their importance, we currently have a poor understanding of primate microbiomes. The composition and structure of microbial communities vary considerably depending on the host and environmental factors. We conducted comparative analyses of the primate vaginal microbiome using pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes of a phylogenetically broad range of primates to test for factors affecting the diversity of primate vaginal ecosystems. The nine primate species included: humans (Homo sapiens), yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus), olive baboons (Papio anubis), lemurs (Propithecus diadema), howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra), red colobus (Piliocolobus rufomitratus), vervets (Chlorocebus aethiops), mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Our results indicated that all primates exhibited host-specific vaginal microbiota and that humans were distinct from other primates in both microbiome composition and diversity. In contrast to the gut microbiome, the vaginal microbiome showed limited congruence with host phylogeny, and neither captivity nor diet elicited substantial effects on the vaginal microbiomes of primates. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance and Wilcoxon tests revealed correlations among vaginal microbiota and host species-specific socioecological factors, particularly related to sexuality, including: female promiscuity, baculum length, gestation time, mating group size and neonatal birth weight. The proportion of unclassified taxa observed in nonhuman primate samples increased with phylogenetic distance from humans, indicative of the existence of previously unrecognized microbial taxa. These findings contribute to our understanding of host-microbe variation and coevolution, microbial biogeography, and disease risk, and have important implications for the use of animal models in studies of human sexual and reproductive diseases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

et al. 2014

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“…However, primates could avoid others when they exhibit signs of infection (Freeland 1976;Loehle 1995;Nunn and Altizer 2006), or sickness behaviors involving increased sleep and rest may lead infected individuals to be less social (Hart 1990). Thus, the presence of certain parasites could alter host social interactions, and thus network properties.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community structure and the spread of infectious disease in primate social networks

2011

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“…Selection pressures imposed by pathogens appear to have had an influence on the psychology and social behaviour of many species, including primates ( Freeland 1976;Møller et al 1993;Loehle 1995). Humans are no exception.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogen prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism

et al. 2008

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Pathogenic diseases impose selection pressures on the social behaviour of host populations. In humans (Homo sapiens), many psychological phenomena appear to serve an antipathogen defence function. One broad implication is the existence of cross-cultural differences in human cognition and behaviour contingent upon the relative presence of pathogens in the local ecology. We focus specifically on one fundamental cultural variable: differences in individualistic versus collectivist values. We suggest that specific behavioural manifestations of collectivism (e.g. ethnocentrism, conformity) can inhibit the transmission of pathogens; and so we hypothesize that collectivism (compared with individualism) will more often characterize cultures in regions that have historically had higher prevalence of pathogens. Drawing on epidemiological data and the findings of worldwide cross-national surveys of individualism/collectivism, our results support this hypothesis: the regional prevalence of pathogens has a strong positive correlation with cultural indicators of collectivism and a strong negative correlation with individualism. The correlations remain significant even when controlling for potential confounding variables. These results help to explain the origin of a paradigmatic cross-cultural difference, and reveal previously undocumented consequences of pathogenic diseases on the variable nature of human societies.

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Social Barriers to Pathogen Transmission in Wild Animal Populations

Cited by 473 publications

References 52 publications

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance

Community structure and the spread of infectious disease in primate social networks

Pathogen prevalence predicts human cross-cultural variability in individualism/collectivism

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