Experimentally induced innovations lead to persistent culture via conformity in wild birds.

ABSTRACT: In human societies, cultural norms arise when behaviours are transmitted through social networks via high-fidelity social learning. However, a paucity of experimental studies has meant that there is no comparable understanding of the process by which socially transmitted behaviours might spread and persist in animal populations. Here we show experimental evidence of the establishment of foraging traditions in a wild bird population. We introduced alternative novel foraging techniques into replicated wild sub-populations of great tits (Parus major) and used automated tracking to map the diffusion, establishment and long-term persistence of the seeded innovations. Furthermore, we used social network analysis to examine the social factors that influenced diffusion dynamics. From only two trai

SUBMITTER: Aplin LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4344839 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature