| dc.description.abstract | Nonhuman primate species spend a conspicuous amount of time grooming during social interactions,
a behaviour that probably serves both social and health-related functions. While the social implications
of grooming have been relatively well studied, less attention has been paid to the health bene!ts,
especially the removal of ectoparasites, which may act as vectors in disease transmission. In this study,
we examined whether grooming behaviour reduced tick load (number of ticks) and haemoprotozoan
infection status in a population of wild adult baboons (Papio cynocephalus). We found that younger and
higher-ranking adults were groomed more often than older, low-ranking adults, and females were
groomed more often than males. Animals that received more grooming, in turn, had lower tick loads.
Baboons with lower tick loads had higher packed red cell volume (PCV or haematocrit), one general
measure of health status. We detected a tick-borne haemoprotozoan, Babesia microti, but its low prevalence
in the population precluded identifying sources of variance in infection. | en |
