The pervasive role of social learning in primate lifetime development

Abstract

In recent decades, an accelerating research effort has exploited a substantial diversity of methodologies to garner mounting evidence for social learning and culture in many species of primate. As in humans, the evidence suggests that the juvenile phases of non-human primates’ lives represent a period of particular intensity in adaptive learning from others, yet the relevant research remains scattered in the literature. Accordingly, we here offer what we believe to be the first substantial collation and review of this body of work and its implications for the lifetime behavioral ecology of primates. We divide our analysis into three main phases: a first phase of learning focused on primary attachment figures, typically the mother; a second phase of selective learning from a widening array of group members, including some with expertise that the primary figures may lack; and a third phase following later dispersal, when a migrant individual encounters new ecological and social circumstances about which the existing residents possess expertise that can be learned from. Collating a diversity of discoveries about this lifetime process leads us to conclude that social learning pervades primate ontogenetic development, importantly shaping locally adaptive knowledge and skills that span multiple aspects of the behavioral repertoire.

Teaching varies with task complexity in wild chimpanzees

“…Social learning of tool use and other behaviors in nonhuman primates largely comprise processes by which a novice learns from a conspecific who does not actively facilitate the novice's learning (9). For example, stimulus and local enhancement may occur when novices learn independently after their attention is drawn to a conspecific's tool or tool site.…”

“…Reuse of others' tools may further aid learning, and, developmentally, tool reuse precedes the independent manufacture of tools for immature chimpanzees, capuchins, and New Caledonian crows (10). Emulation and imitation learning may occur when novices have the opportunity to observe skilled tool-using models (9). Among chimpanzees, close association between mothers and offspring over many years facilitates "education by master-apprenticeship" (11), involving repeated opportunity for observation in close proximity.…”

Cafeteria‐style feeding trials provide new insights into the diet and nutritional strategies of the black snub‐nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri): Implications for conservation

“…Moreover, our findings suggest that cafeteria‐style feeding trials can represent a reliable and complementary method for studying the feeding habits of primates whose diets are difficult to accurately document in the wild (see Supporting Information Appendix IV). However, we note that each of the two captive R. strykeri lived in the wild for <1 year, and therefore may have been unfamiliar with several natural foods that are consumed by wild individuals (Whiten & van de Waal, 2018). In addition, although we conducted feeding trials and nutritional analyses of 108 plant species, other plant species in the GLGMs were not tested.…”

“…Compared with consumed food items in spring, autumn food items selected by captive R. strykeri were higher in lipids, TNC, and ME. and therefore may have been unfamiliar with several natural foods that are consumed by wild individuals (Whiten & van de Waal, 2018).…”

Chimpanzees demonstrate individual differences in social information use

“…However, numerous studies have identified social learning in adult individuals (e.g. Whiten et al 2005; Watson et al 2017; Kendal et al 2015) demonstrating that social learning occurs throughout chimpanzee lifespans (for a review, see Whiten and van de Waal 2018). Moreover, it should also be noted that a chimpanzees’ age has been found not to correlate with success in problem-solving in non-social contexts (Hopper et al 2014).…”