What are the benefits of 'friendship between men and women' found in monkey research?
A 35-year observation of a herd of primates and
Social bonds, social status and survival in wild baboons: a tale of two sexes | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2019.0621
Male baboons with female friends live longer: Strong opposite-sex bonds linked to better chances of survival --ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200921083722.htm
Why Male Baboons Benefit From Female Friends --The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/science/baboons-males-friendship.html
Many studies examining human social relationships and mortality risk have shown that people with richer social relationships are more likely to live longer. For example, a study published in 2010 showed that 'the impact of social relationships on mortality risk outweighs risk factors such as obesity and lack of exercise.'
The tendency to live longer the deeper the relationship with others is common to many herd creatures such as baboons , horses , marmots , rabbits and dolphins .
However, many studies on social relationships and animal longevity have focused on females, and little has been known about the benefits of social relationships to male longevity. .. Because male animals often live out of the herd, it is difficult to know when the males in the herd were born and when the males who left the herd died.
Therefore, a research team led by Fernando Campos, a natural anthropologist at the University of Texas at San Antonio in the United States, focused on a method called the Bayesian estimation method that was recently developed to estimate mortality from data with many breaks and omissions. .. Based on the observation data of 277 mature male chicks and 265 females, a total of 542 males, recorded between January 1984 and December 2018 using the Bayesian estimation method. We investigated the effect of female 'social bonds' on male lifespan.
Data on the frequency with which baboons groom each other was used to calculate social ties. Regarding the implications of baboon grooming, co-author Susan Alberts said, 'Grooming, where baboons stroke each other's fur to remove parasites such as mites and dandruff, not only improves hygiene but also stresses. It is also an act to dissolve and deepen social ties. '
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As a result of investigating the relationship between the 'social bond' between male and female baboons and the 'lifespan of male baboons' by Bayesian inference, 'males with strong social bonds with females are at risk of death. Is reduced by about 28%. '
In his paper, the research team said, 'Advances in methodology have made it possible for the first time to understand how male-female social connections in wild non-human primates are associated with survival. The results of this study, obtained from the above, will contribute to increasing knowledge about human evolution and longevity through research on non-human primates. '
This study found that 'males with deep social ties with females have a long lifespan,' but much remains unknown about the mechanism. According to Mr. Campos, even males who lost the battle for the top and were chased as bosses are known to stay in the flock for a while if they have a strong bond with the females in the flock. Grooming itself, which removes parasites, is also considered to have health benefits.
On the other hand, Mr. Campos said, 'Healthy individuals will be able to devote more energy by forming social bonds.' Instead of 'living longer because they have deepened their bonds,' individuals who can live longer. It is possible to deepen social ties. '
With this in mind, Campos concludes, 'We still don't really understand the mechanism by which friendship leads to longevity,' and expressed motivation for future research.
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