Publication Date:
2013-04-27
Description:
We used network-based diffusion analysis to reveal the cultural spread of a naturally occurring foraging innovation, lobtail feeding, through a population of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) over a period of 27 years. Support for models with a social transmission component was 6 to 23 orders of magnitude greater than for models without. The spatial and temporal distribution of sand lance, a prey species, was also important in predicting the rate of acquisition. Our results, coupled with existing knowledge about song traditions, show that this species can maintain multiple independently evolving traditions in its populations. These insights strengthen the case that cetaceans represent a peak in the evolution of nonhuman culture, independent of the primate lineage.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Allen, Jenny -- Weinrich, Mason -- Hoppitt, Will -- Rendell, Luke -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2013 Apr 26;340(6131):485-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1231976.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Sea Mammal Research Unit and Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, UK.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23620054" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
*Cultural Evolution
;
*Feeding Behavior
;
Female
;
Humpback Whale/*psychology
;
Male
;
Population
;
*Social Behavior
;
Social Networking
;
*Transfer (Psychology)
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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