Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK.
UMR ENTROPIE, (IRD, Université de La Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, IFREMER, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Excellence - CORAIL), 98848 Nouméa, New Caledonia.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2022 Jan 31;377(1843):20200313. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0313. Epub 2021 Dec 13.
Culture presents a second inheritance system by which innovations can be transmitted between generations and among individuals. Some vocal behaviours present compelling examples of cultural evolution. Where modifications accumulate over time, such a process can become cumulative cultural evolution. The existence of cumulative cultural evolution in non-human animals is controversial. When physical products of such a process do not exist, modifications may not be clearly visible over time. Here, we investigate whether the constantly evolving songs of humpback whales () are indicative of cumulative cultural evolution. Using nine years of song data recorded from the New Caledonian humpback whale population, we quantified song evolution and complexity, and formally evaluated this process in light of criteria for cumulative cultural evolution. Song accumulates changes shown by an increase in complexity, but this process is punctuated by rapid loss of song material. While such changes tentatively satisfy the core criteria for cumulative cultural evolution, this claim hinges on the assumption that novel songs are preferred by females. While parsimonious, until such time as studies can link fitness benefits (reproductive success) to individual singers, any claims that humpback whale song evolution represents a form of cumulative cultural evolution may remain open to interpretation. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
文化提供了第二个遗传系统，通过这个系统，创新可以在代际和个体之间传递。一些发声行为提供了令人信服的文化进化的例子。当修改随着时间的推移而积累时，这个过程就可以成为累积的文化进化。非人类动物中存在累积的文化进化是有争议的。当这种过程的物理产物不存在时，随着时间的推移，修改可能不太明显。在这里，我们研究了座头鲸不断进化的歌曲是否表明了累积的文化进化。我们利用新喀里多尼亚座头鲸种群九年的歌曲数据，量化了歌曲的进化和复杂性，并根据累积文化进化的标准对这一过程进行了正式评估。歌曲通过复杂性的增加积累了变化，但这个过程被歌曲材料的快速丧失所打断。虽然这些变化初步满足了累积文化进化的核心标准，但这一说法取决于这样一个假设，即新的歌曲受到雌性的青睐。虽然这一假设很简单，但在能够将适应度收益（繁殖成功）与个体歌手联系起来的研究出现之前，任何声称座头鲸歌曲进化代表一种形式的累积文化进化的说法可能仍然存在争议。本文是关于“动物、人类和机器中集体知识和累积文化的出现”的讨论的一部分。
