Culture and conservation in baleen whales

Culture, defined as information or behaviours shared within a population and acquired from conspecifics through social learning, acts as a second inheritance system which has important implications for species' ecology and evolution. Understanding the influence of social learning and culture in animals' lives is essential to planning and predicting outcomes of conservation actions. Culture plays a key role in cetaceans’ lives, and some of the best evidence for social learning has come from baleen whales (Mysticetes). The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), an international treaty operating under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has recently integrated animal culture into their conservation initiatives. An essential first step in such a conservation framework is to identify key indicators of social learning in well-studied species, which could be applied to other more elusive species. Here, as part of the UNEP CMS Expert Group on Animal Culture and Social Complexity, we first evaluate key evidence for social learning and culture in baleen whales through several case studies. We then suggest key indicators by behavioural context to assist in identifying potential cases of social learning in more elusive species generating a practical guide for future conservation assessment and management.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Animal culture: conservation in a changing world’.