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Bosque RJ, Lawrence JP, Buchholz R, Colli GR, Heppard J, Noonan B. Diversity of warning signal and social interaction influences the evolution of imperfect mimicry. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:7490-7499. [PMID: 30151165 PMCID: PMC6106177 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Mimicry, the resemblance of one species by another, is a complex phenomenon where the mimic (Batesian mimicry) or the model and the mimic (Mullerian mimicry) gain an advantage from this phenotypic convergence. Despite the expectation that mimics should closely resemble their models, many mimetic species appear to be poor mimics. This is particularly apparent in some systems in which there are multiple available models. However, the influence of model pattern diversity on the evolution of mimetic systems remains poorly understood. We tested whether the number of model patterns a predator learns to associate with a negative consequence affects their willingness to try imperfect, novel patterns. We exposed week-old chickens to coral snake (Micrurus) color patterns representative of three South American areas that differ in model pattern richness, and then tested their response to the putative imperfect mimetic pattern of a widespread species of harmless colubrid snake (Oxyrhopus rhombifer) in different social contexts. Our results indicate that chicks have a great hesitation to attack when individually exposed to high model pattern diversity and a greater hesitation to attack when exposed as a group to low model pattern diversity. Individuals with a fast growth trajectory (measured by morphological traits) were also less reluctant to attack. We suggest that the evolution of new patterns could be favored by social learning in areas of low pattern diversity, while individual learning can reduce predation pressure on recently evolved mimics in areas of high model diversity. Our results could aid the development of ecological predictions about the evolution of imperfect mimicry and mimicry in general.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Brice Noonan
- The University of MississippiUniversityMississippi
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52
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Blumstein DT, Williams DM. Animal Behavior: Social Learning by a Whisker. Curr Biol 2018; 28:R658-R660. [PMID: 29870703 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Banded mongoose pups learn foraging preferences from unrelated group members rather than their parents, suggesting that cultural transmission maintains behavioral diversity in groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.
| | - Dana M Williams
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
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53
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Sheppard CE, Marshall HH, Inger R, Thompson FJ, Vitikainen EIK, Barker S, Nichols HJ, Wells DA, McDonald RA, Cant MA. Decoupling of Genetic and Cultural Inheritance in a Wild Mammal. Curr Biol 2018; 28:1846-1850.e2. [PMID: 29804813 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Cultural inheritance, the transmission of socially learned information across generations, is a non-genetic, "second inheritance system" capable of shaping phenotypic variation in humans and many non-human animals [1-3]. Studies of wild animals show that conformity [4, 5] and biases toward copying particular individuals [6, 7] can result in the rapid spread of culturally transmitted behavioral traits and a consequent increase in behavioral homogeneity within groups and populations [8, 9]. These findings support classic models of cultural evolution [10, 11], which predict that many-to-one or one-to-many transmission erodes within-group variance in culturally inherited traits. However, classic theory [10, 11] also predicts that within-group heterogeneity is preserved when offspring each learn from an exclusive role model. We tested this prediction in a wild mammal, the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), in which offspring are reared by specific adult carers that are not their parents, providing an opportunity to disentangle genetic and cultural inheritance of behavior. We show using stable isotope analysis that young mongooses inherit their adult foraging niche from cultural role models, not from their genetic parents. As predicted by theory, one-to-one cultural transmission prevented blending inheritance and allowed the stable coexistence of distinct behavioral traditions within the same social groups. Our results confirm that cultural inheritance via role models can promote rather than erode behavioral heterogeneity in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E Sheppard
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Harry H Marshall
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK; Centre for Research in Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4JD, UK
| | - Richard Inger
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Faye J Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Emma I K Vitikainen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Sam Barker
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Hazel J Nichols
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - David A Wells
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Michael A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK.
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54
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Slagsvold T, Wiebe KL. Immigrants and locally recruited birds differ in prey delivered to their offspring in blue tits and great tits. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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55
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Sheppard CE, Inger R, McDonald RA, Barker S, Jackson AL, Thompson FJ, Vitikainen EIK, Cant MA, Marshall HH, Bourke A. Intragroup competition predicts individual foraging specialisation in a group-living mammal. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:665-673. [PMID: 29542220 PMCID: PMC5947261 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2017] [Revised: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Individual foraging specialisation has important ecological implications, but its causes in group-living species are unclear. One of the major consequences of group living is increased intragroup competition for resources. Foraging theory predicts that with increased competition, individuals should add new prey items to their diet, widening their foraging niche ('optimal foraging hypothesis'). However, classic competition theory suggests the opposite: that increased competition leads to niche partitioning and greater individual foraging specialisation ('niche partitioning hypothesis'). We tested these opposing predictions in wild, group-living banded mongooses (Mungos mungo), using stable isotope analysis of banded mongoose whiskers to quantify individual and group foraging niche. Individual foraging niche size declined with increasing group size, despite all groups having a similar overall niche size. Our findings support the prediction that competition promotes niche partitioning within social groups and suggest that individual foraging specialisation may play an important role in the formation of stable social groupings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E. Sheppard
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
| | - Richard Inger
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
| | - Robbie A. McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
| | - Sam Barker
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
| | - Andrew L. Jackson
- Department of ZoologySchool of Natural SciencesTrinity College DublinDublin 2Ireland
| | - Faye J. Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
| | - Emma I. K. Vitikainen
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
- Department of BiosciencesUniversity of HelsinkiPO Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1)HelsinkiFI‐00014Finland
| | - Michael A. Cant
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
| | - Harry H. Marshall
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenryn CampusCornwallTR10 9FEUK
- Centre for Research in Ecology, Evolution and BehaviourUniversity of RoehamptonLondonSW15 4JDUK
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56
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Serrano-Davies E, O’Shea W, Quinn JL. Individual foraging preferences are linked to innovativeness and personality in the great tit. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2389-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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57
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Abstract
By the mid-twentieth century (thus following the 'Modern Synthesis' in evolutionary biology), the behavioural sciences offered only the sketchy beginnings of a scientific literature documenting evidence for cultural inheritance in animals-the transmission of traditional behaviours via learning from others (social learning). By contrast, recent decades have seen a massive growth in the documentation of such cultural phenomena, driven by long-term field studies and complementary laboratory experiments. Here, I review the burgeoning scope of discoveries in this field, which increasingly suggest that this 'second inheritance system', built on the shoulders of the primary genetic inheritance system, occurs widely among vertebrates and possibly in invertebrates too. Its novel characteristics suggest significant implications for our understanding of evolutionary biology. I assess the extent to which this second system extends the scope of evolution, both by echoing principal properties of the primary, organic evolutionary system, and going beyond it in significant ways. This is well established in human cultural evolution; here, I address animal cultures more generally. The further major, and related, question concerns the extent to which the consequences of widespread animal cultural transmission interact with the primary, genetically based inheritance systems, shaping organic evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
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58
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Laland K, Odling-Smee J, Endler J. Niche construction, sources of selection and trait coevolution. Interface Focus 2017; 7:20160147. [PMID: 28839920 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2016.0147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Organisms modify and choose components of their local environments. This 'niche construction' can alter ecological processes, modify natural selection and contribute to inheritance through ecological legacies. Here, we propose that niche construction initiates and modifies the selection directly affecting the constructor, and on other species, in an orderly, directed and sustained manner. By dependably generating specific environmental states, niche construction co-directs adaptive evolution by imposing a consistent statistical bias on selection. We illustrate how niche construction can generate this evolutionary bias by comparing it with artificial selection. We suggest that it occupies the middle ground between artificial and natural selection. We show how the perspective leads to testable predictions related to: (i) reduced variance in measures of responses to natural selection in the wild; (ii) multiple trait coevolution, including the evolution of sequences of traits and patterns of parallel evolution; and (iii) a positive association between niche construction and biodiversity. More generally, we submit that evolutionary biology would benefit from greater attention to the diverse properties of all sources of selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Laland
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| | | | - John Endler
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC, Australia
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59
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van de Waal E, van Schaik CP, Whiten A. Resilience of experimentally seeded dietary traditions in wild vervets: Evidence from group fissions. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [PMID: 28762524 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Revised: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Controlled laboratory experiments have delivered extensive and compelling evidence for the diffusion and maintenance of socially learned behavior in primates and other animals. Such evidence is rarer in the wild, but we show that a behavior seeded in a majority of individuals within vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythus) groups may be sustained across several years. Here, we report results of two natural fission events in such groups that offer novel evidence of the resilience of socially transmitted group norms of behavior. Before fission, high ranked females exhibited an almost exclusive adherence to a group preference among two food options, originally introduced through a distasteful additive in one option, but no longer present in repeated later tests. Because of rank-dependent competition, low-ranked females ate more of the formerly distasteful food and so discovered it was now as palatable as the alternative. Despite this experience, low ranked females who formed the splinter groups then expressed a 100% bias for the preferred option of their original parent group, revealing these preferences to be resilient. We interpret this effect as conformity to either the preferences of high rankers or of a majority in the parent group, or both. However, given fissioned individuals' familiarity with their habitat and experimental options, we question the adequacy of the informational function usually ascribed to conformity and discuss alternatives under a concept of "social conformity".
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica van de Waal
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.,Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.,Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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60
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Whiten A, Ayala FJ, Feldman MW, Laland KN. The extension of biology through culture. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:7775-7781. [PMID: 28739924 PMCID: PMC5544333 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707630114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom;
| | - Francisco J Ayala
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | | | - Kevin N Laland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9JP, United Kingdom
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61
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Conformity does not perpetuate suboptimal traditions in a wild population of songbirds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:7830-7837. [PMID: 28739943 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1621067114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning is important to the life history of many animals, helping individuals to acquire new adaptive behavior. However despite long-running debate, it remains an open question whether a reliance on social learning can also lead to mismatched or maladaptive behavior. In a previous study, we experimentally induced traditions for opening a bidirectional door puzzle box in replicate subpopulations of the great tit Parus major Individuals were conformist social learners, resulting in stable cultural behaviors. Here, we vary the rewards gained by these techniques to ask to what extent established behaviors are flexible to changing conditions. When subpopulations with established foraging traditions for one technique were subjected to a reduced foraging payoff, 49% of birds switched their behavior to a higher-payoff foraging technique after only 14 days, with younger individuals showing a faster rate of change. We elucidated the decision-making process for each individual, using a mechanistic learning model to demonstrate that, perhaps surprisingly, this population-level change was achieved without significant asocial exploration and without any evidence for payoff-biased copying. Rather, by combining conformist social learning with payoff-sensitive individual reinforcement (updating of experience), individuals and populations could both acquire adaptive behavior and track environmental change.
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62
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The Ecology of Social Learning in Animals and its Link with Intelligence. SPANISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2017; 19:E99. [DOI: 10.1017/sjp.2016.100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractClassical ethology and behavioral ecology did not pay much attention to learning. However, studies of social learning in nature reviewed here reveal the near-ubiquity of reliance on social information for skill acquisition by developing birds and mammals. This conclusion strengthens the plausibility of the cultural intelligence hypothesis for the evolution of intelligence, which assumes that selection on social learning abilities automatically improves individual learning ability. Thus, intelligent species will generally be cultural species. Direct tests of the cultural intelligence hypothesis require good estimates of the amount and kind of social learning taking place in nature in a broad variety of species. These estimates are lacking so far. Here, we start the process of developing a functional classification of social learning, in the form of the social learning spectrum, which should help to predict the mechanisms of social learning involved. Once validated, the categories can be used to estimate the cognitive demands of social learning in the wild.
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63
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Understanding the multiple factors governing social learning and the diffusion of innovations. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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64
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Weegman MD, Bearhop S, Hilton GM, Walsh AJ, Weegman KM, Hodgson DJ, Fox AD. Should I stay or should I go? Fitness costs and benefits of prolonged parent-offspring and sibling-sibling associations in an Arctic-nesting goose population. Oecologia 2016; 181:809-17. [PMID: 26995680 PMCID: PMC4912589 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3595-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Theory predicts persistence of long-term family relationships in vertebrates will occur until perceived fitness costs exceed benefits to either parents or offspring. We examined whether increased breeding probability and survival were associated with prolonged parent–offspring and sibling–sibling relationships in a long-lived Arctic migrant herbivore, the Greenland white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons flavirostris). Although offspring associated with parents for 1–13 years, 79 % of these associations lasted two or less years. Only 65 (9.9 %) of the 656 marked offspring bred once in their lifetime, and just 16 (2.4 %) bred twice or more. The probability of birds with siblings breeding successfully in a subsequent year was credibly greater than that of independent birds at ages 5, 6, and 7. Survival of offspring with parents was credibly greater than that of independent/nonbreeder birds at all possible ages (i.e., ages 2–7+). A cost–benefit matrix model utilizing breeding and survival probabilities showed that staying with family groups was favored over leaving until age 3, after which there were no credible differences between staying and leaving strategies until the oldest ages, when leaving family groups was favored. Thus, most birds in this study either departed family groups early (e.g., at age 2, when the “stay” strategy was favored) or as predicted by our cost–benefit model (i.e., at age 3). Although extended family associations are a feature of this population, we contend that the survival benefits are not sufficient enough to yield clear fitness benefits, and associations only persist because parents and offspring mutually benefit from their persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitch D Weegman
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK.
- Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucester, GL2 7BT, UK.
| | - Stuart Bearhop
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Geoff M Hilton
- Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucester, GL2 7BT, UK
| | - Alyn J Walsh
- National Parks and Wildlife Service, Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, North Slob, Wexford, Ireland
| | - Kaitlin M Weegman
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - David J Hodgson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Anthony David Fox
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Kalø, Grenåvej 14, 8410, Rønde, Denmark
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65
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Keynan O, Ridley AR, Lotem A. Task‐Dependent Differences in Learning by Subordinate and Dominant Wild Arabian Babblers. Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oded Keynan
- Department of Zoology Faculty of Life Sciences Tel‐Aviv University Tel‐Aviv Israel
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney NSW Australia
- Dead Sea & Arava Science Center Central Arava Israel
| | - Amanda R. Ridley
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney NSW Australia
- Centre of Evolutionary Biology School of Animal Biology University of Western Australia Perth WA Australia
| | - Arnon Lotem
- Department of Zoology Faculty of Life Sciences Tel‐Aviv University Tel‐Aviv Israel
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66
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67
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The Evolution of Individual and Cultural Variation in Social Learning. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:215-225. [PMID: 26775795 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2015] [Revised: 12/07/2015] [Accepted: 12/07/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
It is often assumed in experiments and models that social learning abilities - how often individuals copy others, plus who and how they copy - are species-typical. Yet there is accruing evidence for systematic individual variation in social learning within species. Here we review evidence for this individual variation, placing it within a continuum of increasing phenotypic plasticity, from genetically polymorphic personality traits, to developmental plasticity via cues such as maternal stress, to the individual learning of social learning, and finally the social learning of social learning. The latter, possibly restricted to humans, can generate stable between-group cultural variation in social learning. More research is needed to understand the extent, causes, and consequences of this individual and cultural variation.
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68
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Aplin LM, Farine DR, Morand-Ferron J, Cockburn A, Thornton A, Sheldon BC. Counting conformity: evaluating the units of information in frequency-dependent social learning. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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69
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Differences in foraging ecology align with genetically divergent ecotypes of a highly mobile marine top predator. Oecologia 2015; 179:1041-52. [PMID: 26307593 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3424-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Foraging differentiation within a species can contribute to restricted gene flow between ecologically different groups, promoting ecological speciation. Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) show genetic and morphological divergence between the western and central archipelago, possibly as a result of an ecologically mediated contrast in the marine habitat. We use global positioning system (GPS) data, time-depth recordings (TDR), stable isotope and scat data to compare foraging habitat characteristics, diving behaviour and diet composition of Galapagos sea lions from a western and a central colony. We consider both juvenile and adult life stages to assess the potential role of ontogenetic shifts that can be crucial in shaping foraging behaviour and habitat choice for life. We found differences in foraging habitat use, foraging style and diet composition that aligned with genetic differentiation. These differences were consistent between juvenile and adult sea lions from the same colony, overriding age-specific behavioural differences. Our study contributes to an understanding of the complex interaction of ecological condition, plastic behavioural response and genetic make-up of interconnected populations.
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70
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Wiebe KL, Slagsvold T. Foraging Trade-offs between Prey Size, Delivery Rate and Prey Type: How Does Niche Breadth and Early Learning of the Foraging Niche Affect Food Delivery? Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Karen L. Wiebe
- Department of Biology; University of Saskatchewan; Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
| | - Tore Slagsvold
- Department of Biology; Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES); University of Oslo; Oslo Norway
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71
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Pagani-Núñez E, Valls M, Senar JC. Diet specialization in a generalist population: the case of breeding great tits Parus major in the Mediterranean area. Oecologia 2015; 179:629-40. [PMID: 25983114 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3334-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2014] [Accepted: 04/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The analysis of diet specialization provides key information on how different individuals deal with similar food and habitat constraints within populations. Characterizing parental diet specialization at the moment of breeding, and the consistency of these preferences under different levels of effort, may help us to understand why parents exploit alternative resources. We investigated these questions in a species commonly considered a generalist: a breeding population of Mediterranean great tits Parus major. Our aim was to determine whether they are specialists or generalists at the pair level, and the consistency of this behaviour under different levels of effort. Using proportional similarity and mean pairwise overlap indices, we found that parents showed great variability in prey selection between territories. That is, they displayed a small niche overlap. Interestingly, the most specialized breeding pairs showed a tendency to have larger broods. Additionally, we experimentally manipulated brood size and found that parents showed high short-term consistency in their foraging behaviour. They precisely adjusted the number of provisioning trips to the number of nestlings, while they were unable to modify prey proportions or prey size after brood size was changed. We can therefore characterize their foraging strategies as highly consistent. Our results suggest that although the great tit may be considered a generalist at the species or population level, there was a tendency for trophic specialization among breeding pairs. This high inter- and intrapopulation plasticity could account for their great success and wide distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Pagani-Núñez
- Evolutionary Ecology Associate Research Unit (CSIC), Natural History Museum of Barcelona, Psg. Picasso s/n., 08003, Barcelona, Spain. .,Behavioral and Community Ecology, Conservation Biology Group, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, No. 100 Daxue Road, Nanning, 530005, Guangxi, People's Republic of China.
| | - M Valls
- Evolutionary Ecology Associate Research Unit (CSIC), Natural History Museum of Barcelona, Psg. Picasso s/n., 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - J C Senar
- Evolutionary Ecology Associate Research Unit (CSIC), Natural History Museum of Barcelona, Psg. Picasso s/n., 08003, Barcelona, Spain
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72
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Aplin L, Farine D, Morand-Ferron J, Cockburn A, Thornton A, Sheldon B. Experimentally induced innovations lead to persistent culture via conformity in wild birds. Nature 2015; 518:538-41. [PMID: 25470065 PMCID: PMC4344839 DOI: 10.1038/nature13998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 388] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 10/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In human societies, cultural norms arise when behaviours are transmitted through social networks via high-fidelity social learning. However, a paucity of experimental studies has meant that there is no comparable understanding of the process by which socially transmitted behaviours might spread and persist in animal populations. Here we show experimental evidence of the establishment of foraging traditions in a wild bird population. We introduced alternative novel foraging techniques into replicated wild sub-populations of great tits (Parus major) and used automated tracking to map the diffusion, establishment and long-term persistence of the seeded innovations. Furthermore, we used social network analysis to examine the social factors that influenced diffusion dynamics. From only two trained birds in each sub-population, the information spread rapidly through social network ties, to reach an average of 75% of individuals, with a total of 414 knowledgeable individuals performing 57,909 solutions over all replicates. The sub-populations were heavily biased towards using the technique that was originally introduced, resulting in established local traditions that were stable over two generations, despite a high population turnover. Finally, we demonstrate a strong effect of social conformity, with individuals disproportionately adopting the most frequent local variant when first acquiring an innovation, and continuing to favour social information over personal information. Cultural conformity is thought to be a key factor in the evolution of complex culture in humans. In providing the first experimental demonstration of conformity in a wild non-primate, and of cultural norms in foraging techniques in any wild animal, our results suggest a much broader taxonomic occurrence of such an apparently complex cultural behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- L.M. Aplin
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University
| | - D.R. Farine
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancon, Panama
| | | | - A. Cockburn
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University
| | - A. Thornton
- Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus
| | - B.C. Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University
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73
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English S, Pen I, Shea N, Uller T. The information value of non-genetic inheritance in plants and animals. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0116996. [PMID: 25603120 PMCID: PMC4300080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parents influence the development of their offspring in many ways beyond the transmission of DNA. This includes transfer of epigenetic states, nutrients, antibodies and hormones, and behavioural interactions after birth. While the evolutionary consequences of such non-genetic inheritance are increasingly well understood, less is known about how inheritance mechanisms evolve. Here, we present a simple but versatile model to explore the adaptive evolution of non-genetic inheritance. Our model is based on a switch mechanism that produces alternative phenotypes in response to different inputs, including genes and non-genetic factors transmitted from parents and the environment experienced during development. This framework shows how genetic and non-genetic inheritance mechanisms and environmental conditions can act as cues by carrying correlational information about future selective conditions. Differential use of these cues is manifested as different degrees of genetic, parental or environmental morph determination. We use this framework to evaluate the conditions favouring non-genetic inheritance, as opposed to genetic determination of phenotype or within-generation plasticity, by applying it to two putative examples of adaptive non-genetic inheritance: maternal effects on seed germination in plants and transgenerational phase shift in desert locusts. Our simulation models show how the adaptive value of non-genetic inheritance depends on its mechanism, the pace of environmental change, and life history characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinead English
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Ido Pen
- Theoretical Biology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Nicholas Shea
- Department of Philosophy, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tobias Uller
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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74
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Chapman TL, Holcomb MP, Spivey KL, Sehr EK, Gall BG. A Test of Local Enhancement in Amphibians. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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75
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Japyassú HF, Malange J. Plasticity, stereotypy, intra-individual variability and personality: handle with care. Behav Processes 2014; 109 Pt A:40-7. [PMID: 25241306 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2014] [Revised: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 09/10/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Only recently, variability within individuals has become of importance to evolutionary thinking. The boom in the literature on behavioural variability has led to the emergence of concepts such as behavioural plasticity, stereotypy, imprecision, and intra-individual variability (IIV). The proliferation of new terms has resulted in overlapping concepts, spreading confusion in understanding the origins of variability. Here we provide a critical overview of the concepts related to behavioural variability within the individual. We conclude that although there is no overlapping between behavioural plasticity and IIV, these concepts do overlap with stereotypy; they also face problems with ideas of abnormality and absence of function in stereotyped behaviour. We further provide a critical overview of the sometimes confusing relationship between (1) within individual variability, and (2) consistent variability across individuals (personality). We point out that personality is logically independent of both activational plasticity and IIV, because personality emerges at the population level, whereas plasticity and IIV emerge at the individual level. We conclude that, in personality studies, the failure to acknowledge the existence of either internal variability or consistent between-individual differences in internal variability will result in mixing different phenomena, and inhibit building unified accounts from heterogeneous databases.
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76
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Bird fruit preferences match the frequency of fruit colours in tropical Asia. Sci Rep 2014; 4:5627. [PMID: 25033283 PMCID: PMC4102077 DOI: 10.1038/srep05627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
While many factors explain the colour of fleshy fruits, it is thought that black and red fruits are common in part because frugivorous birds prefer these colours. We examined this still controversial hypothesis at a tropical Asian field site, using artificial fruits, fresh fruits, four wild-caught resident frugivorous bird species, and hand-raised naïve birds from three of the same species. We demonstrate that all birds favored red artificial fruits more than yellow, blue, black and green, although the artificial black colour was found subsequently to be similar to the artificial blue colour in its spectral reflectance. Wild-caught birds preferred both black and red fleshy natural fruits, whereas hand-raised naïve birds preferred black to red natural fleshy fruits and to those of other colours. All birds avoided artificial and naturally ripe green fruits. The inter-individual variation in colour choice was low and the preferences were constant over time, supporting the hypothesis that bird colour preferences are a contributing factor driving fruit colour evolution in tropical Asia.
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77
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Danchin E, Pocheville A. Inheritance is where physiology meets evolution. J Physiol 2014; 592:2307-17. [PMID: 24882815 PMCID: PMC4048090 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2014.272096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 04/08/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Physiology and evolutionary biology have developed as two separated disciplines, a separation that mirrored the hypothesis that the physiological and evolutionary processes could be decoupled. We argue that non-genetic inheritance shatters the frontier between physiology and evolution, and leads to the coupling of physiological and evolutionary processes to a point where there exists a continuum between accommodation by phenotypic plasticity and adaptation by natural selection. This approach is also profoundly affecting the definition of the concept of phenotypic plasticity, which should now be envisaged as a multi-scale concept. We further suggest that inclusive inheritance provides a quantitative way to help bridging infra-individual (i.e. physiology) with supra-individual (i.e. evolution) approaches, in a way that should help building the long sough inclusive evolutionary synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etienne Danchin
- CNRS, UPS, ENFA; EDB (Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique), UMR5174, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062, Toulouse, France Université de Toulouse, UMR5174, F-31062, Toulouse, France
| | - Arnaud Pocheville
- Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, 817 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
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78
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79
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Tournier E, Tournier V, van de Waal E, Barrett A, Brown L, Bshary R. Differences in Diet Between Six Neighbouring Groups of Vervet Monkeys. Ethology 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Tournier
- Institute of Biology; Université de Neuchâtel; Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit; University of South Africa; Florida South Africa
| | - Virginia Tournier
- Institute of Biology; Université de Neuchâtel; Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit; University of South Africa; Florida South Africa
| | - Erica van de Waal
- Institute of Biology; Université de Neuchâtel; Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit; University of South Africa; Florida South Africa
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution and Scottish Primate Research Group; School of Psychology; University of St Andrews; St Andrews UK
| | - Alan Barrett
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit; University of South Africa; Florida South Africa
| | - Leslie Brown
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit; University of South Africa; Florida South Africa
| | - Redouan Bshary
- Institute of Biology; Université de Neuchâtel; Neuchâtel Switzerland
- Applied Behavioural Ecology & Ecosystem Research Unit; University of South Africa; Florida South Africa
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80
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Slagsvold T, Hušek J, Whittington JD, Wiebe KL. Antipredator behavior: escape flights on a landscape slope. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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81
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82
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Loukola OJ, Seppänen JT, Krams I, Torvinen SS, Forsman JT. Observed fitness may affect niche overlap in competing species via selective social information use. Am Nat 2013; 182:474-83. [PMID: 24021400 DOI: 10.1086/671815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Social information transmission is important because it enables horizontal spread of behaviors, not only between conspecifics but also between individuals of different species. Because interspecific social information use is expected to take place among species with similar resource needs, it may have major consequences for the emergence of local adaptations, resource sharing, and community organization. Social information use is expected to be selective, but the conditions promoting it in an interspecific context are not well known. Here, we experimentally test whether pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) use the clutch size of great tits (Parus major) in determining the quality of the observed individual and use it as a basis of decision making. We show that pied flycatchers copied or rejected a novel nest site feature preference of great tits experimentally manipulated to exhibit high or low fitness (clutch size), respectively. Our results demonstrate that the social transmission of behaviors across species can be highly selective in response to observed fitness, plausibly making the phenomenon adaptive. In contrast with the current theory of species coexistence, overlap between realized niches of species could dynamically increase or decrease depending on the observed success of surrounding individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olli J Loukola
- Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014 Oulu, Finland
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83
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Skerry AE, Lambert E, Powell LJ, McAuliffe K. The origins of pedagogy: developmental and evolutionary perspectives. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2013; 11:550-72. [PMID: 23864294 PMCID: PMC10426888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2012] [Accepted: 10/26/2012] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The question of whether and how information is actively transferred from knowledgeable to ignorant individuals has received much attention in psychology and evolutionary biology. Research in these fields has proceeded largely independently, with studies of nonhuman animals focusing on knowledgeable individuals and whether or not they meet a functional definition of teaching, while studies of children focus on the learner's assumptions and inferences. We argue that a comprehensive theory of teaching will benefit from integrating perspectives and empirical phenomena from evolutionary and developmental disciplines. In this review, we identify cases of seemingly purposeful information transfer (i.e. teaching) in human and nonhuman animals, discuss what is known about the cognitive processes that support teaching in different species, and highlight ways in which each discipline might be informed by extant theories and empirical tools from the other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E Skerry
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
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84
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Skerry AE, Lambert E, Powell LJ, McAuliffe K. The Origins of Pedagogy: Developmental and Evolutionary Perspectives. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1177/147470491301100306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The question of whether and how information is actively transferred from knowledgeable to ignorant individuals has received much attention in psychology and evolutionary biology. Research in these fields has proceeded largely independently, with studies of nonhuman animals focusing on knowledgeable individuals and whether or not they meet a functional definition of teaching, while studies of children focus on the learner's assumptions and inferences. We argue that a comprehensive theory of teaching will benefit from integrating perspectives and empirical phenomena from evolutionary and developmental disciplines. In this review, we identify cases of seemingly purposeful information transfer (i. e. teaching) in human and nonhuman animals, discuss what is known about the cognitive processes that support teaching in different species, and highlight ways in which each discipline might be informed by extant theories and empirical tools from the other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E. Skerry
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
| | - Enoch Lambert
- Department of Philosophy, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
| | | | - Katherine McAuliffe
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
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85
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Cronin AL. Conditional use of social and private information guides house-hunting ants. PLoS One 2013; 8:e64668. [PMID: 23741364 PMCID: PMC3669381 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Social animals can use both social and private information to guide decision making. While social information can be relatively economical to acquire, it can lead to maladaptive information cascades if attention to environmental cues is supplanted by unconditional copying. Ants frequently employ pheromone trails, a form of social information, to guide collective processes, and this can include consensus decisions made when choosing a place to live. In this study, I examine how house-hunting ants balance social and private information when these information sources conflict to different degrees. Social information, in the form of pre-established pheromone trails, strongly influenced the decision process in choices between equivalent nests, and lead to a reduced relocation time. When trails lead to non-preferred types of nest, however, social information had less influence when this preference was weak and no influence when the preference was strong. These results suggest that social information is vetted against private information during the house-hunting process in this species. Private information is favoured in cases of conflict and this may help insure colonies against costly wrong decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam L Cronin
- United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
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86
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Danchin E, Pujol B, Wagner RH. The double pedigree: a method for studying culturally and genetically inherited behavior in tandem. PLoS One 2013; 8:e61254. [PMID: 23700404 PMCID: PMC3659024 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2010] [Accepted: 03/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgenerational sources of biological variation have been at the center of evolutionary studies ever since Darwin and Wallace identified natural selection. This is because evolution can only operate on traits whose variation is transmitted, i.e. traits that are heritable. The discovery of genetic inheritance has led to a semantic shift, resulting in the tendency to consider that only genes are inherited across generations. Today, however, concepts of heredity are being broadened again to integrate the accruing evidence of non-genetic inheritance, and many evolutionary biologists are calling for the inclusion of non-genetic inheritance into an inclusive evolutionary synthesis. Here, we focus on social heredity and its role in the inheritance of behavioral traits. We discuss quantitative genetics methods that might allow us to disentangle genetic and non-genetic transmission in natural populations with known pedigrees. We then propose an experimental design based on cross-fostering among animal cultures, environments and families that has the potential to partition inherited phenotypic variation into socially (i.e. culturally) and genetically inherited components. This approach builds towards a new conceptual framework based on the use of an extended version of the animal model of quantitative genetics to integrate genetic and cultural components of behavioral inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etienne Danchin
- CNRS, UPS, ENFA, EDB (Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique), UMR5174, Toulouse, France.
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87
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van de Waal E, Borgeaud C, Whiten A. Potent Social Learning and Conformity Shape a Wild Primate's Foraging Decisions. Science 2013; 340:483-5. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1232769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 350] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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88
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Social learning in Cartilaginous fish (stingrays Potamotrygon falkneri). Anim Cogn 2013; 16:927-32. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-013-0625-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2012] [Revised: 03/03/2013] [Accepted: 03/14/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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89
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Slagsvold T, Wigdahl Kleiven K, Eriksen A, Johannessen LE. Vertical and horizontal transmission of nest site preferences in titmice. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.10.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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90
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Juvenile Galápagos pelicans increase their foraging success by copying adult behaviour. PLoS One 2012; 7:e51881. [PMID: 23251646 PMCID: PMC3522586 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2012] [Accepted: 11/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Social learning is the building block of culture and traditions in humans and nonhuman animals, and its study has a long history. Most investigations have addressed either the causation or the function of social learning. Though much is known about the underlying mechanisms of social learning, demonstrations of its adaptive value in a natural setting are lacking. Here we show that juvenile brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) can increase their foraging efficiency by copying adult diving behaviour, suggesting that social learning helps juveniles to find profitable food patches. Our findings demonstrate the potential fitness consequences of behavioural copying and thus highlight the possible adaptive importance of social learning.
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91
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92
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van de Waal E, Whiten A. Spontaneous emergence, imitation and spread of alternative foraging techniques among groups of vervet monkeys. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47008. [PMID: 23071698 PMCID: PMC3468485 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2012] [Accepted: 09/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal social learning has become a subject of broad interest, but demonstrations of bodily imitation in animals remain rare. Based on Voelkl and Huber's study of imitation by marmosets, we tested four groups of semi-captive vervet monkeys presented with food in modified film canisters ("aethipops'). One individual was trained to take the tops off canisters in each group and demonstrated five openings to them. In three groups these models used their mouth to remove the lid, but in one of the groups the model also spontaneously pulled ropes on a canister to open it. In the last group the model preferred to remove the lid with her hands. Following these spontaneous differentiations of foraging techniques in the models, we observed the techniques used by the other group members to open the canisters. We found that mouth opening was the most common technique overall, but the rope and hands methods were used significantly more in groups they were demonstrated in than in groups where they were not. Our results show bodily matching that is conventionally described as imitation. We discuss the relevance of these findings to discoveries about mirror neurons, and implications of the identity of the model for social transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica van de Waal
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, University of St Andrews, School of Psychology, St Andrews, United Kingdom
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, Swart Mfolozi, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
| | - Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, University of St Andrews, School of Psychology, St Andrews, United Kingdom
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game Reserve, Swart Mfolozi, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
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93
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Abstract
Culture-like phenomena in wild animals have received much attention, but how good is the evidence and how similar are they to human culture? New data on chimpanzees suggest their culture may even have an element of conformity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carel P van Schaik
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
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94
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Molnár F, Caraco T, Korniss G. Extraordinary sex ratios: cultural effects on ecological consequences. PLoS One 2012; 7:e43364. [PMID: 22952669 PMCID: PMC3428370 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2012] [Accepted: 07/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We model sex-structured population dynamics to analyze pairwise competition between groups differing both genetically and culturally. A sex-ratio allele is expressed in the heterogametic sex only, so that assumptions of Fisher's analysis do not apply. Sex-ratio evolution drives cultural evolution of a group-associated trait governing mortality in the homogametic sex. The two-sex dynamics under resource limitation induces a strong Allee effect that depends on both sex ratio and cultural trait values. We describe the resulting threshold, separating extinction from positive growth, as a function of female and male densities. When initial conditions avoid extinction due to the Allee effect, different sex ratios cannot coexist; in our model, greater female allocation always invades and excludes a lesser allocation. But the culturally transmitted trait interacts with the sex ratio to determine the ecological consequences of successful invasion. The invading female allocation may permit population persistence at self-regulated equilibrium. For this case, the resident culture may be excluded, or may coexist with the invader culture. That is, a single sex-ratio allele in females and a cultural dimorphism in male mortality can persist; a low-mortality resident trait is maintained by father-to-son cultural transmission. Otherwise, the successfully invading female allocation excludes the resident allele and culture and then drives the population to extinction via a shortage of males. Finally, we show that the results obtained under homogeneous mixing hold, with caveats, in a spatially explicit model with local mating and diffusive dispersal in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferenc Molnár
- Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, United States of America
| | - Thomas Caraco
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, New York, United States of America
| | - Gyorgy Korniss
- Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, United States of America
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95
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Donaldson R, Finn H, Bejder L, Lusseau D, Calver M. The social side of human-wildlife interaction: wildlife can learn harmful behaviours from each other. Anim Conserv 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00548.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R. Donaldson
- Conservation Medicine Program; School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences; Murdoch University; Perth; WA; Australia
| | - H. Finn
- Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit; Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research; Murdoch University; Perth; WA; Australia
| | - L. Bejder
- Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit; Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research; Murdoch University; Perth; WA; Australia
| | - D. Lusseau
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences; University of Aberdeen; Aberdeen; UK
| | - M. Calver
- School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; Murdoch University; Perth; WA; Australia
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96
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Chiyo PI, Moss CJ, Alberts SC. The influence of life history milestones and association networks on crop-raiding behavior in male African elephants. PLoS One 2012; 7:e31382. [PMID: 22347468 PMCID: PMC3275604 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2011] [Accepted: 01/06/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Factors that influence learning and the spread of behavior in wild animal populations are important for understanding species responses to changing environments and for species conservation. In populations of wildlife species that come into conflict with humans by raiding cultivated crops, simple models of exposure of individual animals to crops do not entirely explain the prevalence of crop raiding behavior. We investigated the influence of life history milestones using age and association patterns on the probability of being a crop raider among wild free ranging male African elephants; we focused on males because female elephants are not known to raid crops in our study population. We examined several features of an elephant association network; network density, community structure and association based on age similarity since they are known to influence the spread of behaviors in a population. We found that older males were more likely to be raiders than younger males, that males were more likely to be raiders when their closest associates were also raiders, and that males were more likely to be raiders when their second closest associates were raiders older than them. The male association network had sparse associations, a tendency for individuals similar in age and raiding status to associate, and a strong community structure. However, raiders were randomly distributed between communities. These features of the elephant association network may limit the spread of raiding behavior and likely determine the prevalence of raiding behavior in elephant populations. Our results suggest that social learning has a major influence on the acquisition of raiding behavior in younger males whereas life history factors are important drivers of raiding behavior in older males. Further, both life-history and network patterns may influence the acquisition and spread of complex behaviors in animal populations and provide insight on managing human-wildlife conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick I Chiyo
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
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97
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Rands SA. Mobbing and sitting tight at the nest as methods of avoiding brood parasitism. Interface Focus 2012; 2:217-25. [PMID: 23565334 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2011.0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2011] [Accepted: 12/20/2011] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The arms race between brood parasites and their hosts has led to many different host behaviours for avoiding parasitism. Some of these behaviours are social, and require the presence of conspecifics to work effectively: in response to alarm calls, some species engage in mobbing behaviour where neighbours join nest tenants in attacking and repelling an invading brood parasite. There are risks involved for the neighbours, but it has been demonstrated that social mobbing allows individuals to learn about the presence of brood parasites in the environment, suggesting that social learning is occurring. Here, I consider whether using social signals to alert naive individuals to the presence of brood parasites is a suitable strategy, compared with sitting tight on the nest in response to the signal (which should reduce the chances of being parasitized). I also compare the efficiency of these strategies with the case where individuals fail to change behaviour in response a brood parasite. Using an individual-based simulation model, I demonstrate that both mobbing and sitting tight are effective strategies in response to a signal, and that mobbing is more effective when the chances of being parasitized increase. These results are discussed and compared with known host-brood parasite relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean A Rands
- Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Veterinary Science , University of Bristol , Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU , UK
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98
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Landys MM, Goymann W, Slagsvold T. Rearing conditions have long-term consequences for stress responsiveness in free-living great tits. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2011; 174:219-24. [PMID: 21925180 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2011.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2011] [Revised: 08/25/2011] [Accepted: 08/30/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In captivity, the adrenocortical stress response can be permanently altered by events that occur during early life. Free-living animals have rarely been examined in this regard. To examine whether early-life events impact the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the natural setting, we evaluated the stress response of free-living interspecifically cross-fostered great tits (Parus major). Cross-fostered birds may show a long-term potentiation of the adrenocortical stress response because species-specific nutritional requirements may not be met in the nest and/or cross-fostered birds may experience psychosocial stress while being raised by heterospecifics. Nevertheless, we hypothesized that in the natural setting, programmed changes in HPA function would be eclipsed by reactive responses to the immediate environment. Thus, we predicted that adult cross-fostered great tits and controls would show no differences in their adrenocortical stress response. Contrary to predictions, we found that stress responsiveness (i.e., the rate of the corticosterone increase associated with capture and handling) was significantly higher in cross-fostered great tits than in controls. Further, stress responsiveness was not significantly different between mature adults and first-year juveniles. Thus, data indicate significant effects of early rearing conditions on adrenocortical reactivity in the natural setting and also suggest that effects of rearing conditions in free-living animals can last into adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mėta M Landys
- Department of Biology, Centre for Evolutionary and Ecological Synthesis, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
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99
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Whiten A, Hinde RA, Laland KN, Stringer CB. Culture evolves. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 366:938-48. [PMID: 21357216 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Culture pervades human lives and has allowed our species to create niches all around the world and its oceans, in ways quite unlike any other primate. Indeed, our cultural nature appears so distinctive that it is often thought to separate humanity from the rest of nature and the Darwinian forces that shape it. A contrary view arises through the recent discoveries of a diverse range of disciplines, here brought together to illustrate the scope of a burgeoning field of cultural evolution and to facilitate cross-disciplinary fertilization. Each approach emphasizes important linkages between culture and evolutionary biology rather than quarantining one from the other. Recent studies reveal that processes important in cultural transmission are more widespread and significant across the animal kingdom than earlier recognized, with important implications for evolutionary theory. Recent archaeological discoveries have pushed back the origins of human culture to much more ancient times than traditionally thought. These developments suggest previously unidentified continuities between animal and human culture. A third new array of discoveries concerns the later diversification of human cultures, where the operations of Darwinian-like processes are identified, in part, through scientific methods borrowed from biology. Finally, surprising discoveries have been made about the imprint of cultural evolution in the predispositions of human minds for cultural transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, St Andrews, UK.
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100
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Laland KN, Atton N, Webster MM. From fish to fashion: experimental and theoretical insights into the evolution of culture. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 366:958-68. [PMID: 21357218 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent years have witnessed a re-evaluation of the cognitive capabilities of fishes, including with respect to social learning. Indeed, some of the best experimental evidence for animal traditions can be found in fishes. Laboratory experimental studies reveal that many fishes acquire dietary, food site and mating preferences, predator recognition and avoidance behaviour, and learn pathways, through copying other fishes. Concentrating on foraging behaviour, we will present the findings of laboratory experiments that reveal social learning, behavioural innovation, the diffusion of novel behaviour through populations and traditional use of food sites. Further studies reveal surprisingly complex social learning strategies deployed by sticklebacks. We will go on to place these observations of fish in a phylogenetic context, describing in which respects the learning and traditionality of fish are similar to, and differ from, that observed in other animals. We end by drawing on theoretical insights to suggest processes that may have played important roles in the evolution of the human cultural capability.
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Affiliation(s)
- K N Laland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
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