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Multilevel animal societies can emerge from cultural transmission

Author

Listed:
  • Maurício Cantor

    (Dalhousie University)

  • Lauren G. Shoemaker

    (University of Colorado at Boulder)

  • Reniel B. Cabral

    (National Institute of Physics, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman
    Sustainable Fisheries Group, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management and Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara)

  • César O. Flores

    (School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology)

  • Melinda Varga

    (University of Notre Dame)

  • Hal Whitehead

    (Dalhousie University)

Abstract

Multilevel societies, containing hierarchically nested social levels, are remarkable social structures whose origins are unclear. The social relationships of sperm whales are organized in a multilevel society with an upper level composed of clans of individuals communicating using similar patterns of clicks (codas). Using agent-based models informed by an 18-year empirical study, we show that clans are unlikely products of stochastic processes (genetic or cultural drift) but likely originate from cultural transmission via biased social learning of codas. Distinct clusters of individuals with similar acoustic repertoires, mirroring the empirical clans, emerge when whales learn preferentially the most common codas (conformism) from behaviourally similar individuals (homophily). Cultural transmission seems key in the partitioning of sperm whales into sympatric clans. These findings suggest that processes similar to those that generate complex human cultures could not only be at play in non-human societies but also create multilevel social structures in the wild.

Suggested Citation

  • Maurício Cantor & Lauren G. Shoemaker & Reniel B. Cabral & César O. Flores & Melinda Varga & Hal Whitehead, 2015. "Multilevel animal societies can emerge from cultural transmission," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-10, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms9091
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9091
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    Cited by:

    1. Heather Williams & Andrew Scharf & Anna R. Ryba & D. Ryan Norris & Daniel J. Mennill & Amy E. M. Newman & Stéphanie M. Doucet & Julie C. Blackwood, 2022. "Cumulative cultural evolution and mechanisms for cultural selection in wild bird songs," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Dominic D R Burns & Jon W Pitchford & Catherine L Parr & Daniel W Franks & Elva J H Robinson & Luke Holman, 2019. "The costs and benefits of decentralization and centralization of ant colonies," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 30(6), pages 1700-1706.
    3. Edwin J. C. Leeuwen & Sarah E. DeTroy & Daniel B. M. Haun & Josep Call, 2024. "Chimpanzees use social information to acquire a skill they fail to innovate," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(5), pages 891-902, May.
    4. Gengjun Yao & Jingwei Wang & Baoguo Cui & Yunlong Ma, 2022. "Quantifying effects of tasks on group performance in social learning," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.

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