Culture in whales and dolphins

Culture is an important determinant of the behavior of whales and dolphins. Among the many definitions of culture, one that is commonly used by evolutionary biologists and is useful when studying the phenomenon in whales and dolphins is behavioral variation between sets of animals maintained and transmitted by social learning. Culture potentially affects ecology and population biology in a variety of ways. It can increase feeding success, the diversity of diet, and either promote or inhibit population structure. Thus, cetacean culture may need to be included into considerations of the conservation and management of whales and dolphins. The cultures of whales and dolphins possess features that have no known parallel outside humans. Examples are the sympatric multifaceted cultures of killer whales, and the giant physical scales such as ocean-wide songs of humpback whales and clans of sperm whales. They represent an independent evolution of cultural faculties outside the primate line, and thus help us understand both how culture evolved and what its consequences may be. The focused study of culture in whales and dolphins is just beginning. Despite denials from those who demand experimental proof of imitation or teaching before attributing culture, there are strong indications that, in common with humans (. Homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (. Pan troglodytes), much of the behavioral repertoire of many cetaceans is learned socially and constitutes culture. Culture may also be an important attribute of other marine mammals, with the foraging techniques of sea otters (. Enhydra lutris). © 2009