Integrating culture into primate conservation

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

Primates exhibit the richest cultural repertoire among animal taxa, spanning foraging, communication, sociality and tool use. Understanding behaviours of primates has strongly influenced study behaviour challenged traditional views that culture is exclusive to humans. With nearly 60% primate species endangered owing human-driven habitat changes, recent calls have emerged integrate diversity into conservation strategies. However, integration requires careful planning avoid misallocation resources or skewed priorities. Our review reveals studies on are limited less than 3% extant species, largely taxonomic methodological biases favouring long-term observations in protected habitats. We propose including policies can broaden scope research, fostering more inclusive agendas address taxa with diverse habitats underexplored traits. Furthermore, anthropogenic changes both erode foster behaviours, emphasizing need for context-specific suggest recognizing traits frameworks may enhance resilience populations changing environments. This approach promises a comprehensive equitable allocation efforts, preserving biological primates.This article part theme issue 'Animal culture: world'.

Language: Английский

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The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals and beyond

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

Conservation strategies seek to ensure that populations persist and are resilient environmental change. As learning from others can shape the development of skills help animals survive, reproduce respond changing conditions, understanding social be crucial conservation importance. Research on mammals, with their great diversity niches systems, provides vital evidence helps communicate, secure mates, avoid predators, forage effectively navigate through ecological environments. However, these environments being rapidly altered in Anthropocene, influencing individuals' reliance learning, value learned information, its spread groups stability socially traditions. Here, we review synthesize this growing body literature highlight how ways which use deploy it flexibly throughout lives may enhance programmes. We consider both potential negative consequences scope for social-learning-driven interventions generate adaptive responses challenges A greater appreciation integration flexibility will ultimately promote effective mammals other taxa our fast-changing world.This article is part theme issue 'Animal culture: a world'.

Language: Английский

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Animal culture: conservation in a changing world

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

Social learning and animal culture can influence conservation outcomes in significant ways. Culture is a dynamic phenomenon; socially learned behaviours be transmitted within and/or between generations among populations, which facilitate resilience, or other circumstances generate vulnerability. driver of evolutionary diversification, population structure demography, shaping sociality influencing underlying biological processes such as reproduction survival, affecting fitness. This theme issue synthesizes the current state knowledge on cultural variation major vertebrate taxa, offering practical insights how social interface directly with interventions. It ranges over topics that include translocations, human-wildlife interactions adaptation to anthropogenic change. complex; integrating into challenging. No one-size-fits-all policy recommended. Instead, we aim balance understanding diversity implementations this nascent field, exploring supporting developing pathways towards efficiencies. Key themes emerge conserving capacity, benefits data sharing, along intrinsic value cultures role Indigenous Peoples local communities.This article part 'Animal culture: changing world'.

Language: Английский

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Social learning and culture in birds: emerging patterns and relevance to conservation

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

There is now abundant evidence for a role of social learning and culture in shaping behaviour range avian species across multiple contexts, from migration routes geese foraging crows, to passerine song. Recent emerging has further linked fitness outcomes some birds, highlighting its potential importance conservation. Here, we first summarize the state knowledge on focusing best-studied contexts migration, foraging, predation We identify extensive gaps taxa but argue that existing suggests that: (i) are taxonomically clustered (ii) reliance one behavioural domain does not predict others. Together, use this build predictive framework aid conservationists species-specific decision-making under imperfect knowledge. Second, review link between conservation birds. understanding which behaviours birds likely learn socially can help refine strategies, improving trajectories threatened populations. Last, present practical steps how consideration be integrated into actions including reintroductions, translocations captive breeding programmes.This article part theme issue 'Animal culture: changing world'.

Language: Английский

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The growing methodological toolkit for identifying and studying social learning and culture in non-human animals

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

There is a growing consensus that animals' socially transmitted knowledge should be recognized when planning conservation management, but demonstrating social learning or culture can present considerable challenges, especially in the wild. Fortunately, decades of research have spawned rich methodological toolkit for exactly this purpose. Here, we review principal approaches, including: experiments; analyses natural experimentally seeded diffusions novel behaviours, sometimes using specialist statistical techniques; mapping behavioural variation across neighbouring, sympatric captive groups, at larger scales; and assessment aspects cross-generational transmission, including teaching, during ontogenetic development cumulative change. Some methods reviewed were developed studies, subsequently been adapted application wild, are useful exploring species' general propensity to learn transmit information socially. We highlight several emerging 'rapid assessment' approaches-including camera trapping, passive acoustic monitoring, animal-borne tags, AI-assisted data mining computer simulations-that prove addressing particularly urgent needs. conclude by considering how best use practice, guide further on animal cultures, maximize policy impact.This article part theme issue 'Animal culture: changing world'.

Language: Английский

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The effect of habitat health and environmental change on cultural diversity and richness in animals

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

There is increasing evidence that habitat decline via fragmentation or species loss can lead to of cultural diversity, complexity richness in non-human animals. For example, a reduction local bird leads lyrebirds sing fewer complex songs, while great apes living fragmented landscapes have smaller repertoires. However, the link between animal culture and ecology remains understudied, potentially interactions ongoing ecological change are poorly understood. Here, we review current state knowledge on how influences culture, focusing vocal communication foraging behaviour. We identify key factors affecting patterning, including direct effects (e.g. environmental variability) indirect connectivity). then emerging for identifying three major threatening processes: fragmentation, degradation urbanization. Finally, develop predictive framework effect these processes highlight diversity fitness costs with conservation implications.This article part theme issue 'Animal culture: changing world'.

Language: Английский

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Strategies for integrating animal social learning and culture into conservation translocation practice

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

Conservation translocations are increasingly used in species' recovery. Their success often depends upon maintaining or restoring survival-relevant behaviour, which is socially learned many animals. A lack of species- population-appropriate learning can lead to the loss adaptive increasing likelihood negative human interactions and compromising animals' ability migrate, exploit resources, avoid predators, integrate into wild populations, reproduce survive. When applied well, behavioural tools address deficiencies behaviours boost survival. However, their use has been uneven between species translocation programmes, behaviour commonly contributes failure. Critically, current international guidance (e.g. International Union for Nature's guidelines) does not directly discuss social its facilitation. We argue that linking knowledge about appropriate strategies will enhance direct future research. offer a framework incorporating animal planning, implementation, monitoring evaluation across captive settings. Our recommendations consider barriers practitioners face contending with logistics, time constraints intervention cost. emphasize stronger links researchers, wildlife agencies would increase support research, improve perceived relevance feasibility facilitating learning.This article part theme issue 'Animal culture: conservation changing world'.

Language: Английский

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Cultural processes and demography: implications for conservation and beyond

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1925)

Published: May 1, 2025

Social transmission of cultural variants in wildlife can cause population level effects with implications for conservation science, policy and practice. learning animal culture generate resilience populations through the spread adaptive behaviour but may also vulnerabilities. Distilling comprehensive management advice this field remains challenging. Animal is important defining 'units to conserve', managing human-wildlife interactions, reintroductions or translocations, influences evolutionary change. However, processes remain poorly understood. Given breadth issues which inform conservation, it timely consider underlying more detail. We coupling dynamics explore conditions under social tip a declining into growth. Simulations on model system two interacting units are used tensions between coupled demographic processes. show that even simple bias, outcomes complex. In concert urgent targeted action, we highlight need develop deeper process-based understanding field, yield fundamental principles applicable broader range encultured species.This article part theme issue 'Animal culture: changing world'.

Language: Английский

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Apes: Social learning

Elsevier eBooks, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Jan. 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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