Abstract:

This project introduces the structure and initial sample for a working database of animal culture, drawing upon calls to include animal behavioral variation in conservation strategies. Research has shown how socially transmitted information may shift behaviors such as foraging strategies, migration patterns, and use of available ecological ranges, in turn increasing resilience or vulnerability to environmental disturbances (Brakes et al. 2021; Tobias & Pigot 2019; Whitehead et al. 2023). However, there is still disagreement on what constitutes cultural behavior in nonhuman animals and how considerations of culture might be most effectively applied to conservation efforts (Carvalho et al. 2022). The database structure includes occurrence data on different animal populations worldwide with metadata on sources including sites and time periods sampled, whether and why the behaviors have been classified as cultural, which domains they fall under (communication, foraging, migration, habitat alteration, etc.), possible ecological drivers, and phylogenetic distribution of these behaviors across an initial sample of taxa. Eventually, it aims to provide an open-access framework synthesizing available data on animal cultures with existing ecological trait databases. Ideally, this will help indicate potential overlaps or mismatches with metrics prioritized in conservation and allow updates with data from future field research.

Speaker's social media:

Bluesky: @incertaesedis.bsky.social Twitter: @incertaesedis42