AV俱乐部

(HALIFAX, N.S.) 鈥� September 8, 2015 鈥� A AV俱乐部 PhD candidate in biology is fuelling the debate that culture鈥攇enerally viewed as distinctly human鈥攊s also found in the animal kingdom.

Mauricio Cantor has studied Pacific sperm whales off the Gal谩pagos Islands since 2013. His findings, , suggest that culture is an important mechanism for structuring society in two clans of sperm whales.

鈥淎nimal culture is a highly-debated topic among experts,鈥� says Cantor, a member of the Whitehead Lab in AV俱乐部鈥檚 Faculty of Science. 鈥淥ur findings provide evidence that key features of human culture鈥攚hich we think makes us so different from everything else in nature鈥攎ight be at play in populations of other animals.鈥�

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 Gal谩pagos National Park to observe two clans of sperm whales.

The two clans share the same geographic area but Cantor鈥檚 work shows they鈥檝e segregated themselves because each has developed its own 鈥渄ialect鈥濃�攁 repertoire of communication sounds that the other clan may not understand. This kind of segregation is rare in nature, explains Cantor, though it鈥檚 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 learners鈥攃onforming to those they鈥檙e most similar to in their environment.

鈥淥ur findings show that social learning among sperm whales is the required ingredient for the segregation in clans with different 鈥榙ialects鈥�,鈥� says Cantor.

Cantor鈥檚 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 Gal谩pagos National Park, Cantor provided material that will help guides to explain sperm whale behaviour and culture to visitors.

"I鈥檝e been trying to understand the culture of sperm whales for quite a few years, and for even more I鈥檝e studied their societies,鈥� says Dr. Whitehead, biology professor at AV俱乐部 and Cantor鈥檚 supervisor. 鈥淲hat 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.聽 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.

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Nikki Comeau
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