BIOLOGY

Do animals have culture? 🐶

One hot debate in biology is whether animals can have cultures. Culture has been defined as behaviour patterns that are shared by a community and are typical of a group, relying on socially learned and transmitted information. Culture can act as a secondary inheritance system, being passed down between generations. It can also allow the spread of arbitrary or maladaptive behaviours (which may, for example) put individuals at greater risk of unnecessary harm.) There are many methods of studying cultures, including observing animals in the field, or looking at behaviours in the lab.

Evidence for culture stems from instances such as humpback whales picking up new songs, which can move between different pods and individuals within those pods, or observing the spread of new feeding behaviours between individuals inhabiting the same areas. There is evidence from primates too, such as chimpanzees which are often considered the most ”cultural” animals, and invertebrates like bumblebees which can teach other bees how to perform certain tasks. It is unclear however whether culture shapes social structures or whether this works the other way. In fact, it may work both ways! While historically, scientists have tended to view many things as strictly human (such as culture), it would appear that yes, animals might be capable of culture too!

💡 Things to consider

• What sorts of methods might people use to study animal culture?: There are a few methods ethologists can use to study animal behaviour, including ethograms, or network analyses. Ethograms are constructed by researchers to document all the behaviours they see within a group of animals. The results of ethograms can be compared between groups to indicate whether there are differences between them which could be attributed to cultural inheritance. Nowadays, researchers more often use network-based analyses to track transmission of new behaviours to establish whether they are cultural or not. Why might this be?

• Why have people previously not thought animals could have culture, and what might this tell us about bias in science?: This is an important question to ask because we are often unaware of our own internal biases, but this does show up again and again in the work we as scientists do. People can interpret their results very differently depending on their biases. Historically, humans have viewed themselves somewhat egotistically as the epitome of creation and the top of the evolutionary pyramid, as seen in Victorian times. Nowadays, we have a more holistic view of evolution, and this is reflected in the more objective science we are doing.

• Can you think of some behaviours which might spread culturally?: Try and classify them by adaptive vs maladaptive, or any other meaningful categories you can think of. You could look at things like chimpanzees wearing ornaments, different orca pods hunting different foods and teaching this to others, or the passing down of whale song between pods. There are loads of examples out there… Try and list a few!

🔎 Find out more

• Do Animals Have Culture?

• Animal culture is so common that even fish and flies have it

• What Explains Bizarre Animal Behavior?

🍒 The cherry on top

• ❓ Postmodern art: Postmodernism (emerging in the 1970s) is a movement in art and architecture that challenges the seriousness and strict rules of modernism, embracing eclecticism and critiques cultural values. You can explore hundreds of postmodern pieces of art on this site. Great if you like Art!

• 🎧 Low-frequency Noise: This article delves into a new study exploring the potential health risks of chronic exposure to low-frequency noise, the rumble you feel from traffic or appliances. Is it affecting your well-being more than you think? Have a read if you’re into Physics or Medicine.

• 🕸️ The Victorian Web: Feeling curious about the Victorian Era? This website takes a unique approach, presenting Victorian history as a web of interconnected ideas. Explore literature, art, social events, and influential figures, all woven together to create a rich tapestry of the period. Great if you’re interested in History and Literature.

👀 Keep your eyes peeled for…

• 10th June:

  • UEA Book Club - L’Etranger (Camus)

  • UEA Classical Civilisation Webinar

  • Homerton College Cambridge Subject Focus Session

  • Homerton College Cambridge Veterinary Medicine Subject Focus Session

• 11th June:

  • UEA Film Studies Webinar

  • LSE Language, Culture and Society Taster Course

  • Sidney Sussex College Cambridge Personal Statements Webinar

  • Homerton College Cambridge Archaeology Subject Focus Session

• 12th June:

  • UEA English Literature Webinar

  • LSE Social Policy Taster Course

  • Homerton College Cambridge Classics Subject Focus Session

• 13th June:

  • UEA Psychology/Sociology Taster Webinar

  • Homerton College Cambridge Economics Subject Focus Session

🗳️ Poll