Social Conventions in Wild White‐faced Capuchin Monkeys

Perry, Seymour; Baker, M. A.; Fedigan, Linda M.; Gros‐Louis, Julie; Jack, Katherine; MacKinnon, Katherine C.; Manson, Joseph H.; Panger, Melissa A.; Pyle, Kendra; Rose, Lisa M.

doi:10.1086/345825

Cited by 255 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Primates, however, are potentially distinct from most mammalian taxa in their unusually large, neuron-dense brains (8)(9)(10)(11) and in the extensive occurrence of socially transmitted behavior exhibited in some lineages (e.g., refs. [35][36][37]. Whether the association between extended life history and enlarged brain size is best explained by a cognitive or developmental mechanism in primates specifically remains to be explored.…”

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confidence: 99%

Coevolution of cultural intelligence, extended life history, sociality, and brain size in primates

Street

Navarrete

Reader

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

169

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Explanations for primate brain expansion and the evolution of human cognition and culture remain contentious despite extensive research. While multiple comparative analyses have investigated variation in brain size across primate species, very few have addressed why primates vary in how much they use social learning. Here, we evaluate the hypothesis that the enhanced reliance on socially transmitted behavior observed in some primates has coevolved with enlarged brains, complex sociality, and extended lifespans. Using recently developed phylogenetic comparative methods we show that, across primate species, a measure of social learning proclivity increases with absolute and relative brain volume, longevity (specifically reproductive lifespan), and social group size, correcting for research effort. We also confirm relationships of absolute and relative brain volume with longevity (both juvenile period and reproductive lifespan) and social group size, although longevity is generally the stronger predictor. Relationships between social learning, brain volume, and longevity remain when controlling for maternal investment and are therefore not simply explained as a by-product of the generally slower life history expected for larger brained species. Our findings suggest that both brain expansion and high reliance on culturally transmitted behavior coevolved with sociality and extended lifespan in primates. This coevolution is consistent with the hypothesis that the evolution of large brains, sociality, and long lifespans has promoted reliance on culture, with reliance on culture in turn driving further increases in brain volume, cognitive abilities, and lifespans in some primate lineages. cultural evolution | social learning | brain evolution | primates | phylogenetic comparative analysis

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confidence: 99%

Coevolution of cultural intelligence, extended life history, sociality, and brain size in primates

Street

Navarrete

Reader

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

169

130

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“…a lack of 'termite fishing' even though the appropriate termite species was present [9,10]. This so-called 'method of exclusion', which infers the existence of culture by eliminating ecological explanations for the patterning of between-group behavioural variation, has since been applied to several other primate and non-primate species, and has until recently been the dominant approach used to identify animal culture in the wild [11][12][13][14].…”

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confidence: 99%

Genetic and ‘cultural’ similarity in wild chimpanzees

et al. 2010

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The question of whether animals possess 'cultures' or 'traditions' continues to generate widespread theoretical and empirical interest. Studies of wild chimpanzees have featured prominently in this discussion, as the dominant approach used to identify culture in wild animals was first applied to them. This procedure, the 'method of exclusion,' begins by documenting behavioural differences between groups and then infers the existence of culture by eliminating ecological explanations for their occurrence. The validity of this approach has been questioned because genetic differences between groups have not explicitly been ruled out as a factor contributing to between-group differences in behaviour. Here we investigate this issue directly by analysing genetic and behavioural data from nine groups of wild chimpanzees. We find that the overall levels of genetic and behavioural dissimilarity between groups are highly and statistically significantly correlated. Additional analyses show that only a very small number of behaviours vary between genetically similar groups, and that there is no obvious pattern as to which classes of behaviours (e.g. tool-use versus communicative) have a distribution that matches patterns of betweengroup genetic dissimilarity. These results indicate that genetic dissimilarity cannot be eliminated as playing a major role in generating group differences in chimpanzee behaviour.

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“…Each wild chimpanzee community exhibits a distinct profile defined by several different kinds of putative traditions that have been described as cultures. In recent years, complexities of these kinds have increasingly been reported in other wild primates [orangutans (16), capuchins (17,18), and taxa such as cetaceans (19)]. …”

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Faithful replication of foraging techniques along cultural transmission chains by chimpanzees and children

Horner

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Flynn

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

227

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Observational studies of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have revealed population-specific differences in behavior, thought to represent cultural variation. Field studies have also reported behaviors indicative of cultural learning, such as close observation of adult skills by infants, and the use of similar foraging techniques within a population over many generations. Although experimental studies have shown that chimpanzees are able to learn complex behaviors by observation, it is unclear how closely these studies simulate the learning environment found in the wild. In the present study we have used a diffusion chain paradigm, whereby a behavior is passed from one individual to the next in a linear sequence in an attempt to simulate intergenerational transmission of a foraging skill. Using a powerful three-group, two-action methodology, we found that alternative methods used to obtain food from a foraging device (''lift door'' versus ''slide door'') were accurately transmitted along two chains of six and five chimpanzees, respectively, such that the last chimpanzee in the chain used the same method as the original trained model. The fidelity of transmission within each chain is remarkable given that several individuals in the no-model control group were able to discover either method by individual exploration. A comparative study with human children revealed similar results. This study is the first to experimentally demonstrate the linear transmission of alternative foraging techniques by non-human primates. Our results show that chimpanzees have a capacity to sustain local traditions across multiple simulated generations.culture ͉ diffusion chain ͉ social learning ͉ tradition L ong-term observational studies of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) across Africa have revealed a diverse range of behavioral differences between populations, thought to represent local traditions (1-3). The inference that the differences are socially learned is based on (i) patterns of distribution that appear incompatible with genetic or simple environmental explanations; (ii) records of close observation of adults by infants as well as matching of mother-offspring foraging styles (4-7); and (iii) studies of both wild (8-10) and captive chimpanzees (11)(12)(13)(14)(15) showing that social learning from conspecifics can affect the acquisition of tool-use skills. Each wild chimpanzee community exhibits a distinct profile defined by several different kinds of putative traditions that have been described as cultures.

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Social Conventions in Wild White‐faced Capuchin Monkeys

Cited by 255 publications

References 57 publications

Coevolution of cultural intelligence, extended life history, sociality, and brain size in primates

Coevolution of cultural intelligence, extended life history, sociality, and brain size in primates

Genetic and ‘cultural’ similarity in wild chimpanzees

Faithful replication of foraging techniques along cultural transmission chains by chimpanzees and children

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