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» Go to news main±«Óătv study on Pacific sperm whales suggests culture isn't just for humans
(HALIFAX, N.S.) â September 8, 2015 â A ±«Óătv University PhD candidate in biology is fuelling the debate that cultureâgenerally viewed as distinctly humanâis also found in the animal kingdom.
Mauricio Cantor has studied Pacific sperm whales off the GalĂĄpagos Islands since 2013. His findings, , suggest that culture is an important mechanism for structuring society in two clans of sperm whales.
âAnimal culture is a highly-debated topic among experts,â says Cantor, a member of the Whitehead Lab in ±«Óătvâs Faculty of Science. âOur findings provide evidence that key features of human cultureâwhich we think makes us so different from everything else in natureâmight be at play in populations of other animals.â
Funded by The National Geographic Society, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Killam Trusts and The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
Cantor and supervisor Dr. Hal Whitehead teamed up with the GalĂĄpagos National Park to observe two clans of sperm whales.
The two clans share the same geographic area but Cantorâs work shows theyâve segregated themselves because each has developed its own âdialectââa repertoire of communication sounds that the other clan may not understand. This kind of segregation is rare in nature, explains Cantor, though itâs evident in human populations as a result of cultural evolution.
Using computer simulation and Whitehead Lab field data dating as far back as the 80s, Cantor created virtual whale populations to investigate how these two dialects may have developed over thousands of years. Testing various scenarios, it became clear the whales are social learnersâconforming to those theyâre most similar to in their environment.
âOur findings show that social learning among sperm whales is the required ingredient for the segregation in clans with different âdialectsâ,â says Cantor.
Cantorâs work showing that culture can be a mechanism to help structure animal society will fuel the ongoing debate among experts all over the world. Now tourists on the world-famous islands will have more insight into this debate too. Through the partnership with the GalĂĄpagos National Park, Cantor provided material that will help guides to explain sperm whale behaviour and culture to visitors.
"Iâve been trying to understand the culture of sperm whales for quite a few years, and for even more Iâve studied their societies,â says Dr. Whitehead, biology professor at ±«Óătv and Cantorâs supervisor. âWhat Cantor has done is show how interrelated sperm whale society and sperm whale culture are, and how the feedbacks between culture and society may have worked in the evolution of this extraordinary animal."
The Whitehead Lab is known for its work examining culture in marine life. Late last year, Dr. Whitehead and Dr. Luke Rendell of the University of St. Andrews (and former PhD student in the Whitehead Lab) co-authored a book titled The Cultural Lives of Dolphins and Whales.
Images and audio of the whales communicating are available.
Media Contact
Nikki Comeau
Communications Officer
The Faculty of Science - ±«Óătv University
+1 (902) 223-2446
nikki.comeau@dal.ca
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