Social rank may determine if animals live fast, die young

Social rank may determine whether animals prioritize immediate fitness over long-term health, according to a study. Researchers studied macaques on a Thai island and found that the animals’ unusual habit of washing their food is in fact based on social rank. Dominant monkeys quickly brush their food on their fur before eating it, along with mouthfuls of tooth-degrading sand, while lower-ranked monkeys obsessively wash their food in the surf. Citing the disposable soma hypothesis, the researchers suggest that high-ranking macaques are looking to quickly consume energy to mate and fend off challengers. But food-washing monkeys may be preserving their long-term health to produce more offspring over time. The findings could shed light on how the wear observed in the fossilized teeth of early humans relates to social structure.
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