Primates and disability: Behavioral flexibility and implications for resilience to environmental change

Area of Science:

• Primate behavior and ecology
• Disability studies
• Conservation biology

Background:

• Physical impairments and disabilities in nonhuman primates can result from congenital issues, illness, or injury, leading to long-term challenges.
• Understanding how primates adapt behaviorally to disabilities is crucial for assessing their resilience and capacity to cope with environmental shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize existing literature on nonhuman primate disability and behavioral adaptation.
• To explore how primate behavioral modifications in response to disability can inform predictions about their adjustment to human-altered environments.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature review was conducted, surveying 2807 articles from Web of Science and Scopus.
• 114 studies meeting inclusion criteria on spontaneous physical impairment and disability in primates were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Primates demonstrate behavioral plasticity, social care (maternal and conspecific), and behavioral innovation to compensate for disabilities.
• A significant portion (60%) of reviewed publications linked primate disability to human activities, highlighting human impact.

Conclusions:

• Behavioral plasticity and social support enable many primates with disabilities to overcome challenges.
• The study of primate disability offers valuable insights into their resilience and adaptive potential in the face of environmental change, particularly human-induced alterations.