Understanding Animal Culture | Lucy Aplin | Explorers Festival London 2019

Summary

In this talk, the speaker explores the concept of animal culture, exemplified by the spread of behaviors like washing sweet potatoes by macaques and milk bottle opening by tits. Highlighting research on chimpanzees, she discusses cultural variants like hand clasping and tool use, emphasizing the importance of social learning. The speaker's own study on great tits demonstrates how innovations can spread through social networks, leading to population-level behavioral changes. She advocates for the conservation of animal culture, noting its significance for behavioral flexibility and adaptation, and its influence on human-animal interactions in urban environments.

Takeaways

• 🔬 The concept of 'Protoculture' was introduced after observing a young Japanese macaque washing sweet potatoes in the sea, a behavior that spread within its society.
• 🌐 In the 1990s, researchers noticed variations in chimpanzee behaviors across different sites in Africa, which couldn't be explained by ecological or genetic factors alone.
• 🐵 Chimpanzees are not the only animals exhibiting cultural behaviors; similar patterns have been observed in New Caledonian crows, dolphins, killer whales, and birds.
• 🧬 The idea of animal culture is broadly defined as behaviors that are socially learned, shared within a group, differ between communities, and persist over time.
• 🕊️ A historical example of animal culture is the milk bottle opening behavior observed in tits in the UK, which spread geographically and showed accumulative uptake over generations.
• 📊 The speaker's research involved creating a social network of great tits to study the spread of behaviors like milk bottle opening, demonstrating social learning and cultural transmission.
• 🌿 The study of animal culture is significant for conservation efforts, as it highlights the importance of preserving not just animal populations but also the cultural knowledge they hold.
• 🦅 In some cases, lost cultural behaviors, like migration routes in bighorn sheep, can be reintroduced through training, showing the potential for cultural inheritance in conservation.
• 🏙️ Animal behavior in urban environments is dynamic and responsive to human-induced selective pressures, indicating a two-way interaction between animals and their modified habitats.
• 🌱 The study of animal culture fosters empathy and a deeper understanding of animals as individuals with rich social and cultural lives, beyond mere numbers.

Q & A

What significant behavior was observed in Japanese macaques in 1954?

In 1954, a young Japanese macaque was observed taking sweet potatoes to the sea to wash them, a behavior that spread among other macaques and is still seen today.

What term was used to describe the macaques' behavior of washing sweet potatoes?

The researchers labeled this behavior as 'Protoculture'.

How did chimpanzee behavior vary across different research sites in Africa during the 1990s?

Researchers noticed that behaviors such as hand clasping grooming and tool use varied between sites, with some sites showing these behaviors and others not, indicating cultural differences.

What is meant by 'animal culture' in the context of the script?

Animal culture refers to behaviors that are socially learned, shared by members of a group, differ between communities, and persist over time, potentially across generations.

What is an example of animal culture observed in birds?

An example of animal culture in birds is the 'song dialects' where birds from different populations often sing different tunes.

How did the milk bottle opening behavior in tits spread geographically and across generations?

The behavior of opening milk bottles was observed to have two independent origins and spread both geographically and through generations over twenty years.

What method did the researcher use to study the social ecology of great tits?

The researcher used microchips to track birds and built a social network to study their interactions and the spread of behaviors like milk bottle opening.

How did the researcher demonstrate social learning in great tits?

The researcher trained some birds to solve a sliding door task and observed that the majority of the birds in their social community used the same technique, indicating they learned by copying each other.

What is the significance of the study on animal culture for conservation efforts?

The study highlights the importance of conserving not just animal numbers but also the cultural knowledge within populations, which is crucial for behavioral flexibility and adaptation.

How can cultural inheritance in animals be influenced by human activities?

Cultural inheritance can be influenced by providing new opportunities and challenges, as seen in urban environments where animals adapt to human-modified environments, shaping and being shaped by human behavior.

What is the role of animal culture in shaping our perception of animals?

Understanding animal culture can increase empathy for animals, viewing them as individuals with rich social and cultural lives, rather than just numbers.

Outlines

00:00

🌊 Animal Culture and Innovation

The speaker, a scientist and daughter of a geologist, discusses the concept of animal culture, beginning with a 1954 study of Japanese macaques that started washing sweet potatoes in the sea, a behavior that spread and persists. This was termed 'Protoculture.' The narrative then shifts to the 1990s, where chimpanzee behaviors varied across Africa, leading to the identification of 39 cultural variants by researchers like Jane Goodall. The speaker emphasizes that while chimpanzees are a flagship for animal culture, other species like crows, dolphins, and whales also exhibit cultural behaviors. The speaker's personal involvement began with studying great tits in the UK, particularly their milk bottle opening behavior, which was an early example of social learning and innovation spreading through a population.

05:00

🔬 Social Learning and Cultural Transmission

The speaker details an experiment where great tits were microchipped to track their social networks and behaviors. By introducing a new task—opening a sliding door for food—the speaker observed how the behavior spread through the social network, indicating social learning. This was further confirmed over three generations, demonstrating the persistence of learned behaviors. The speaker argues that such innovation and social learning are crucial for rapid behavioral adaptation in changing environments, which is not possible on genetic timescales. The speaker also touches on the concept of cultural inheritance and the challenges of regaining lost cultural behaviors, using the example of reintroduced bighorn sheep and moose in the US.

10:01

🌳 Conservation and the Role of Animal Culture

The speaker concludes by discussing the implications of animal culture for conservation. It's emphasized that conserving animal populations is not just about numbers but also about preserving the cultural knowledge within those populations. The example of whooping cranes in the US is used to illustrate how conservationists can help reintroduce lost behaviors, such as migration routes, by guiding young birds. The speaker suggests that animal culture research shows that behavior is dynamic and responsive to environmental pressures, as seen in urban environments. Finally, the speaker argues that recognizing the rich social and cultural lives of animals can increase empathy and change our perspective on them, highlighting the importance of this understanding in an increasingly disconnected world.

Keywords

💡Animal Culture

Animal culture refers to the socially learned behaviors that are shared by members of a group or community, differ between communities, and persist over time, potentially across generations. In the video, the concept is central to understanding how certain behaviors, such as tool use in chimpanzees or milk bottle opening in birds, are transmitted and maintained within animal populations. The example of Japanese macaques washing sweet potatoes and the cultural variants in chimpanzee behaviors across Africa illustrate the significance of animal culture in the video's narrative.

💡Protoculture

Protoculture is a term used by researchers to describe the initial observation of a new behavior that later spreads within a species, as seen in the case of the Japanese macaques washing sweet potatoes. This concept is pivotal in the video as it sets the stage for understanding the development and spread of animal culture. It demonstrates how a single innovative act can lead to a new cultural norm within a species.

💡Social Learning

Social learning is the process by which animals acquire new behaviors by observing and copying others within their social group. The video emphasizes this concept through examples such as the spread of milk bottle opening among birds and the various grooming techniques observed in chimpanzees. Social learning is a key mechanism through which animal culture is transmitted and maintained.

💡Cultural Variants

Cultural variants are the different forms of a behavior that can be found in different populations of the same species. The video discusses how researchers identified 39 such variants in chimpanzee behavior across Africa, such as the use of stone tools in some populations and sticks in others. These variants highlight the diversity and adaptability within animal cultures.

💡Ecology

Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. In the context of the video, ecology is mentioned in relation to understanding animal behavior and culture. The video suggests that behaviors observed in animals cannot always be explained by ecological or genetic factors alone, indicating the importance of considering cultural transmission in ecological studies.

💡Great Tits

Great tits are a species of bird mentioned in the video in relation to the milk bottle opening behavior. This behavior, where birds learned to pierce the tops of milk bottles to steal cream, is an early example of animal innovation and social learning. The video uses this example to illustrate how a new opportunity (cream in milk bottles) led to an innovative response and subsequent cultural spread within the bird population.

💡Social Network

A social network in the context of the video refers to the web of social connections between individuals within a population, which can influence the spread of behaviors and information. The speaker's research involved creating a social network map of great tits to track how the milk bottle opening behavior spread through social learning. This concept is crucial for understanding how animal culture can evolve and persist within populations.

💡Cultural Inheritance

Cultural inheritance is the process by which behaviors and knowledge are passed down through generations within a species. The video discusses how the loss of cultural knowledge, such as migration routes in bighorn sheep, can have long-lasting effects on populations. It also suggests that understanding cultural inheritance is vital for conservation efforts, as it helps in preserving not just individuals but also the collective knowledge within species.

💡Behavioral Flexibility

Behavioral flexibility is the ability of animals to adapt their behaviors in response to new challenges or opportunities. The video argues that animal culture and social learning provide a mechanism for rapid behavioral adaptation that is not dependent on genetic changes. This concept is important for understanding how animals can survive and thrive in rapidly changing environments.

💡Conservation

Conservation in the video is discussed in the context of preserving not just animal populations but also their cultural knowledge and behaviors. The speaker highlights the importance of considering animal culture in conservation efforts, such as using microlight airplanes to teach whooping cranes migration routes. This approach to conservation recognizes the dynamic nature of animal behavior and its importance for species survival.

💡Urban Adaptation

Urban adaptation refers to the ability of animals to survive and thrive in urban environments. The video mentions sulphur-crested cockatoos as an example of successful urban adapters. This concept is significant as it shows how animal behavior can change in response to human-altered landscapes, and it underscores the interplay between human activities and animal culture.

Highlights

A Japanese macaque started washing sweet potatoes in the sea in 1954, which spread across macaque society, indicating early evidence of animal culture.

Chimpanzees exhibit different behaviors across research sites in Africa, including hand-clasp grooming and tool use, suggesting localized cultural variations.

Researchers found 39 cultural variants in chimpanzee behavior that couldn't be explained by ecological or genetic differences.

Cultural behavior isn't exclusive to chimpanzees; it's observed in species like New Caledonian crows, dolphins, and birds through song dialects and tool use.

Animal culture is defined as socially learned behavior shared within a group, differing between communities, and persisting across generations.

Tool use in chimpanzees has persisted for thousands of years, evidenced by archaeological findings.

A long-running study at Oxford University tracked great tits, revealing their ability to solve tasks and spread the solution through social learning.

Great tits learned to open milk bottles in the 1920s, with this innovation spreading geographically and persisting for decades.

Microchipping birds allowed researchers to map social networks and track how learned behaviors spread through communities.

An experiment showed birds could solve tasks based on observing others, proving the importance of social learning in animal culture.

Behavioral innovations in animals, like tool use, can lead to population-level changes, offering a mechanism for adaptation in changing environments.

In populations reintroduced after extermination, it can take decades to regain behaviors like migration, emphasizing the importance of cultural inheritance.

Conservationists have used techniques like microlight airplanes to reintroduce migratory behaviors in species like whooping cranes.

Animal culture research highlights the importance of conserving not only populations but also the cultural knowledge held by animals.

Urban environments force animals to adapt, with species like cockatoos in Australia demonstrating behavioral flexibility in response to human-modified habitats.

Transcripts

[Applause]

thank you and as a scientist and the

daughter of a kick-ass geologist mother

I am very pleased to be here just after

international women in science day as

well

exactly so a story about understanding

of animal culture starts in 1954 when a

young Japanese macaque started taking

provisions sweet potatoes down to the

sea to wash them and this behavior was

picked up by other young macaques and

then spread throughout macaque Society

where it still in fact persists today

and the researchers at the time labeled

this as a what they called Protoculture

we then need to fast forward to get a

perspective that combines this with

ecology to the 1990s when researchers

working at chimpanzee sites across

Africa began to collect their data sets

and noticed that the behaviors they were

describing in each of their different

research sites were not necessarily

being observed in all of them so one

example of this is what's called the

hand clasping grooming behavior in

chimpanzees where they hold hands when

they grew they do this in some sites but

not all in Africa and in the sites where

they do do this behavior we see that in

some they hold hands and in others they

lock wrists so this might sound like a

kind of a bit of a weird oddity but when

the researchers compared notes they

found this wasn't the only example in

some sites in Africa chimpanzees used

stone tools to crush nuts in other sites

they used her might they use sticks to

fish for termites and in total Andy

White and Jane Goodall Christoph Bosch

and their colleagues identified 39

cultural variants which were apparently

differing between sites and could not be

given an ex-world an explanation that

was clearly ecological or genetic so

where do I come into this story well I

was a

oops sorry sir I should pause here and

say that while chimpanzees are the

flagship species for the discovery and

description of what we call an animal

culture they're not the only case and

more recent research has shown that we

see cultural behavior in New Caledonian

crow crows in toy use in forging

behaviors in dolphins and killer whales

and in other whales and in birdsong

where birds from different populations

often sing different tunes and we've

labeled this as song dialects and I

should pause here and explain what I

mean by animal culture so we mean very

broadly a behavior which is socially

learned so that is learned by copying

another individual is shared by members

of a group or a community and differs

between communities and persists over

time and perhaps over generations in the

cage case of tool use in chimpanzees

archaeological evidence is actually now

showing us that it's persistent for

sometimes thousands of years so where do

I come into this story well as a young

graduate in Australia I was lucky enough

to be given the opportunity to come

study the social ecology of great hits

in this long-running research site at

the University of Oxford why from woods

and I didn't know much about this

quintessential little British bird but I

knew one story and that's a story that

some of you might know as well of milk

bottle opening so in 1921 tits were

first observed piercing the tops of milk

bottles on doorsteps and stealing cream

and at the time fissure and high end in

an early example of citizen science

began to collect these reports and were

able to show that the behavior appeared

to have two independent sites of origin

and then over the next-gen twenty years

until multiple designs change spread

geographically and also in showed

accumulative uptake in the pop

and when I began to look at this I found

it amazing that firstly this is 30 years

before it was first observed in those

Japanese macaques and secondly nobody

had then gone back and experimentally

tested how this might have happened what

process would were we seeing for this

spread of innovation so we don't know

for sure what happened in this case but

we could hypothesize it might have

looked something like this

we had a new opportunity cream and

innovation on the part of some number of

individuals to access that cream here's

the foil social learning and the

transmission of this innovation

throughout the population leading to a

population level change in behavior that

persisted over generations and we might

be able to call something like animal

culture so with the team of social

ecologists we microchipped bunch of

birds in white and woods with these

little microchips the same that you'd

put on your cat or dog and this allowed

us to remotely track them when they came

to foraging patches across the woodland

and this is a network superimposed over

the map of that same woodland where

every bird is a dot the line between the

dots of the social connection between

them so the amount of time they spend

foraging together and the color of the

social communities we can identify in

the wider population so effectively what

we're building here is a social network

of birds I went into this social network

and I targeted two birds from every

social community that I brought into

captivity not too trained to open milk

bottles but to solve this little sliding

door task so they could slide this door

either to the left or right I trained

them on one direction and they get a

mealworm reward I then put these tasks

back out into the world and observed

hundreds of birds in each social

community solving it to get food the

vast majority of whom were solving using

the same technique that the original

bird had shown that I introduced but in

every task there was an equally

difficult equally rewarding alternative

sliding the other way so the fact

they're all showing the same behavior is

really good evidence we have for social

learning that they're learning by

copying each other we could also observe

it spreading through the social network

so here the two yellow dots of the trade

innovators I seeded in and they're

turning red and with the order in which

they learn the behavior and hopefully as

you can see it spreads across the social

network and social connections are

really important for the order in which

the birds learn and more than that we

also put these tasks back out over three

generations and we're able to show that

the behavior once established in the

population persisted strongly over time

so effectively and experimentally

induced animal culture and I think this

work for me was very exciting because it

demonstrated that an innovation to a new

opportunity on the part of a very small

number of individuals is a realistic

mechanism to observe population level

change in behavior and in our modern

world where many animals no longer live

in the environments we might think that

they evolved in or experienced over

evolutionary time but rather in rapidly

modify and highly modified environments

this could be a very fundamentally

important mechanism for behavioral

flexibility to allow rapid adaptation

that's not possible on genetic

timescales over Lucian area timescales

so well this is I think a good news

story for many of the animals that we

see and that we live with and interact

we also need to think about the way in

which cultural knowledge can be shaped

by the impact and influence of

successive generations over time and we

call this process cultural inheritance

and when that cultural knowledge is lost

from populations entirely it can also be

very hard to regain and the best example

for this comes from my blend migration

routes so you

bighorn sheep and moose in the US in

populations that were completely

exterminated by hunting and then

reintroduced we found or researchers

found by Brett Jasper and colleagues

that it can take decades to even regain

migration as a behavior in those

populations and between 90 and 150 years

to regain the sort of optimal migration

routes that were once observed in

healthy populations but when we know

about this and we know that cultural

knowledge is important we also have a

way of hijacking this system to for the

powers of good you could say in our

conservation efforts and the best

example of this comes from the fantastic

work that's been done in whooping cranes

in the US as well

so here conservationists have used

microlight airplanes to effectively

train young birds that are being

reintroduced on where to migrate and

these young birds can then act as the

older experienced individuals for the

next generation of wild born chicks so

we can kind of reinsert migratory

behavior back into this population and I

think what animal culture research can

tell us about when it comes to

conservation is how important it is not

only to conserve numbers of individuals

and populations but also to conserve

knowledge that's held in animal

populations and how we need to consider

this when we also when we think about

targeting our conservation efforts but

the flip side of this is that it also

tells us that in some species behavior

is not fixed but responding in real-time

to the sort of selective pressures that

we're placing upon it

and so we can clearly see this in urban

environments where some animals have

adapted very successfully for example my

recent research on sulphur crested

cockatoos which are very successful

urban adapter in Australia but more than

this it tells us that behavior in these

environments is actually a dialogue so

we shape the behavior of animals by

providing new opportunities and new

challenges they're responding to this

but by thriving in our highly modified

urban and human environments they're

also shaping our behavior as well for

example by becoming increasingly tame or

giving us opportunities to interact with

them and fundamentally and I think more

broadly than this animal culture tells

us that animals other than humans have

rich social and cultural and interesting

lives which I hope is a perspective that

will increase empathy for animals as we

begin to see them not just as numbers

but also as interesting individuals and

in an increasingly disconnected world I

think this is more important than ever

before thank you

[Applause]

you