Torfs Jonas R R, Eens Marcel, Laméris Daan W, Staes Nicky
Behavioral Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Koningin Astridplein 26, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Dec 19;11(12):3597. doi: 10.3390/ani11123597.
Infectious diseases can be considered a threat to animal welfare and are commonly spread through both direct and indirect social interactions with conspecifics. This is especially true for species with complex social lives, like primates. While several studies have investigated the impact of sociality on disease risk in primates, only a handful have focused on respiratory disease, despite it being a major cause of morbidity and mortality in both wild and captive populations and thus an important threat to primate welfare. Therefore, we examined the role of social-network position on the occurrence of respiratory disease symptoms during one winter season in a relatively large group of 20 zoo-housed bonobos with managed fission-fusion dynamics. We found that within the proximity network, symptoms were more likely to occur in individuals with higher betweenness centrality, which are individuals that form bridges between different parts of the network. Symptoms were also more likely to occur in males than in females, independent of their social-network position. Taken together, these results highlight a combined role of close proximity and sex in increased risk of attracting respiratory disease, two factors that can be taken into account for further welfare management of the species.
传染病可被视为对动物福利的一种威胁，通常通过与同种动物的直接和间接社交互动传播。对于具有复杂社会生活的物种，如灵长类动物，情况尤其如此。虽然有几项研究调查了社会性对灵长类动物疾病风险的影响，但只有少数研究关注呼吸道疾病，尽管它是野生和圈养种群发病和死亡的主要原因，因此是对灵长类动物福利的重要威胁。因此，我们在一组相对较大的、有管理的裂变融合动态的20只圈养倭黑猩猩中，研究了社交网络位置在一个冬季呼吸道疾病症状发生中的作用。我们发现，在邻近网络中，具有较高中介中心性的个体（即在网络不同部分之间形成桥梁的个体）更有可能出现症状。症状在雄性中比在雌性中更有可能出现，与它们的社交网络位置无关。综上所述，这些结果突出了近距离接触和性别在增加感染呼吸道疾病风险方面的综合作用，这两个因素可在该物种的进一步福利管理中加以考虑。
