Social distancing works—just ask lobsters, ants, and vampire bats
Mandrills in captivity may have different social behaviors, but in the wild, the baboons practice strict distancing. (cmophoto.net/Unsplash/)Dana Hawley is a professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech. Julia Buck is an assistant professor of biology at University of North Carolina Wilmington. This story originally featured on The Conversation.Social distancing to combat COVID-19 is profoundly impacting society, leaving many people wondering whether it will actually work. As disease ecologists, we know that nature has an answer.Animals as diverse as monkeys, lobsters, insects, and birds can detect and avoid sick members of their species. Why have so many types of animals evolved such sophisticated behaviors in response to disease? Because social distancing helps them survive.In evolutionary terms, animals that effectively socially distance during an outbreak improve their chances of staying healthy and going on to produce more offspring, which also will socially distance when confronted with disease.We study the diverse ways...