The growing methodological toolkit for identifying and studying social learning and culture in non-human animals

Abstract

There is a growing consensus that animals' socially transmitted knowledge should be recognized when planning conservation management, but demonstrating social learning or culture can present considerable challenges, especially in the wild. Fortunately, decades of research have spawned a rich methodological toolkit for exactly this purpose. Here, we review principal approaches, including: social learning experiments; analyses of natural or experimentally seeded diffusions of novel behaviours, sometimes using specialist statistical techniques; mapping of behavioural variation across neighbouring, sympatric or captive groups, or at larger scales; and assessment of aspects of cross-generational transmission, including teaching, learning during ontogenetic development and cumulative change. Some methods reviewed were developed for captive studies, but have subsequently been adapted for application in the wild, or are useful for exploring a species' general propensity to learn and transmit information socially. We highlight several emerging 'rapid assessment' approaches - including camera trapping, passive acoustic monitoring, animal-borne tags, AI-assisted data mining and computer simulations - that should prove useful in addressing particularly urgent conservation needs. We conclude by considering how best to use this growing methodological toolkit in practice, to guide further research on animal social learning and cultures, and maximize conservation and policy impact. This article is part of the theme issue 'Animal culture: conservation in a changing world'.