Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions

Ana Eguiguren; Isabel Avila; Sarah Mesnick; Mauricio Cantor; Taylor Hersh; Héctor Pérez-Puig; Patricia Rosero; Luke Rendell; Hal Whitehead; Constanza Rojas; Juan Jose Alava

doi:10.1098/rstb.2024.0142

Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions

Ana Eguiguren^*, Isabel Avila, Sarah Mesnick, Mauricio Cantor, Taylor Hersh, Héctor Pérez-Puig, Patricia Rosero, Luke Rendell, Hal Whitehead, Constanza Rojas, Juan Jose Alava

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Culture—socially transmitted behaviours shared within a community—can influence animal populations' structure, vulnerability and resilience. Clans of sperm whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) exemplify the profound influence of culture on these dynamics and highlight the challenges of accounting for culture in conservation efforts. Globally, sperm whales are classified as vulnerable, and the ETP sperm whale population has struggled to reach a positive growth rate. This stagnation is partly due to cumulative anthropogenic threats in the region, including fishing conflicts, vessel traffic, pollution, deep sea mining, oil and gas exploration, and anthropogenic climate change. The United Nations Convention on Migratory Species adopted a Concerted Action for ETP sperm whales in 2017, proposing collaborative efforts to address cultural dimensions in conservation. However, knowledge gaps and real-world implementation challenges persist. Here, we review the role of social transmission in shaping sperm whale behaviour and populations, outline current anthropogenic threats and environmental stressors they face in the ETP, and discuss the ongoing challenges of incorporating cultural dimensions into large-scale international conservation efforts. Strengthening transnational collaboration and capitalizing on new technologies for efficient analysis can help bridge these knowledge gaps and enhance future research on this iconic species.

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

Original language	English
Article number	20240142
Pages (from-to)	1-13
Number of pages	13
Journal	Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume	380
Issue number	1925
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0142
Publication status	Published - 1 May 2025

Keywords

Eastern Tropical Pacific
Behaviour
Conservation
Anthropogenic threats
Social transmission
Sperm whale clans

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1098/rstb.2024.0142Licence: CC BY

Eguiguren-2025-Integrating-cultural-dimensions-PTRSB-380-20240142-CCBY
Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the originalauthor and source are credited.
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Cite this

Eguiguren, A., Avila, I., Mesnick, S., Cantor, M., Hersh, T., Pérez-Puig, H., Rosero, P., Rendell, L., Whitehead, H., Rojas, C., & Alava, J. J. (2025). Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 380(1925), 1-13. Article 20240142. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0142

@article{2c0c84006a9c40068be357e955ddfb36,

title = "Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions",

abstract = "Culture—socially transmitted behaviours shared within a community—can influence animal populations' structure, vulnerability and resilience. Clans of sperm whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) exemplify the profound influence of culture on these dynamics and highlight the challenges of accounting for culture in conservation efforts. Globally, sperm whales are classified as vulnerable, and the ETP sperm whale population has struggled to reach a positive growth rate. This stagnation is partly due to cumulative anthropogenic threats in the region, including fishing conflicts, vessel traffic, pollution, deep sea mining, oil and gas exploration, and anthropogenic climate change. The United Nations Convention on Migratory Species adopted a Concerted Action for ETP sperm whales in 2017, proposing collaborative efforts to address cultural dimensions in conservation. However, knowledge gaps and real-world implementation challenges persist. Here, we review the role of social transmission in shaping sperm whale behaviour and populations, outline current anthropogenic threats and environmental stressors they face in the ETP, and discuss the ongoing challenges of incorporating cultural dimensions into large-scale international conservation efforts. Strengthening transnational collaboration and capitalizing on new technologies for efficient analysis can help bridge these knowledge gaps and enhance future research on this iconic species.This article is part of the theme issue {\textquoteleft}Animal culture: conservation in a changing world{\textquoteright}.",

keywords = "Eastern Tropical Pacific, Behaviour, Conservation, Anthropogenic threats, Social transmission, Sperm whale clans",

author = "Ana Eguiguren and Isabel Avila and Sarah Mesnick and Mauricio Cantor and Taylor Hersh and H{\'e}ctor P{\'e}rez-Puig and Patricia Rosero and Luke Rendell and Hal Whitehead and Constanza Rojas and Alava, {Juan Jose}",

note = "Funding: A.E. was funded by the Killam Graduate Research Scholarship, Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship and the Rufford Grant. M.C. was supported by the Marine Mammal Research Program Fund and the Jungers Faculty Development and Research Fund at Oregon State University. T.A.H. was supported by the Oregon Gray Whale License Plate Program at the Marine Mammal Institute (Oregon State University). S.L.M was funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.",

year = "2025",

month = may,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1098/rstb.2024.0142",

language = "English",

volume = "380",

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journal = "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences",

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Eguiguren, A, Avila, I, Mesnick, S, Cantor, M, Hersh, T, Pérez-Puig, H, Rosero, P, Rendell, L, Whitehead, H, Rojas, C & Alava, JJ 2025, 'Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 380, no. 1925, 20240142, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2024.0142

Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions. / Eguiguren, Ana; Avila, Isabel; Mesnick, Sarah et al.
In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 380, No. 1925, 20240142, 01.05.2025, p. 1-13.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation

T2 - threats, challenges and solutions

AU - Eguiguren, Ana

AU - Avila, Isabel

AU - Mesnick, Sarah

AU - Cantor, Mauricio

AU - Hersh, Taylor

AU - Pérez-Puig, Héctor

AU - Rosero, Patricia

AU - Rendell, Luke

AU - Whitehead, Hal

AU - Rojas, Constanza

AU - Alava, Juan Jose

N1 - Funding: A.E. was funded by the Killam Graduate Research Scholarship, Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship and the Rufford Grant. M.C. was supported by the Marine Mammal Research Program Fund and the Jungers Faculty Development and Research Fund at Oregon State University. T.A.H. was supported by the Oregon Gray Whale License Plate Program at the Marine Mammal Institute (Oregon State University). S.L.M was funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA.

PY - 2025/5/1

Y1 - 2025/5/1

N2 - Culture—socially transmitted behaviours shared within a community—can influence animal populations' structure, vulnerability and resilience. Clans of sperm whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) exemplify the profound influence of culture on these dynamics and highlight the challenges of accounting for culture in conservation efforts. Globally, sperm whales are classified as vulnerable, and the ETP sperm whale population has struggled to reach a positive growth rate. This stagnation is partly due to cumulative anthropogenic threats in the region, including fishing conflicts, vessel traffic, pollution, deep sea mining, oil and gas exploration, and anthropogenic climate change. The United Nations Convention on Migratory Species adopted a Concerted Action for ETP sperm whales in 2017, proposing collaborative efforts to address cultural dimensions in conservation. However, knowledge gaps and real-world implementation challenges persist. Here, we review the role of social transmission in shaping sperm whale behaviour and populations, outline current anthropogenic threats and environmental stressors they face in the ETP, and discuss the ongoing challenges of incorporating cultural dimensions into large-scale international conservation efforts. Strengthening transnational collaboration and capitalizing on new technologies for efficient analysis can help bridge these knowledge gaps and enhance future research on this iconic species.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Animal culture: conservation in a changing world’.

AB - Culture—socially transmitted behaviours shared within a community—can influence animal populations' structure, vulnerability and resilience. Clans of sperm whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) exemplify the profound influence of culture on these dynamics and highlight the challenges of accounting for culture in conservation efforts. Globally, sperm whales are classified as vulnerable, and the ETP sperm whale population has struggled to reach a positive growth rate. This stagnation is partly due to cumulative anthropogenic threats in the region, including fishing conflicts, vessel traffic, pollution, deep sea mining, oil and gas exploration, and anthropogenic climate change. The United Nations Convention on Migratory Species adopted a Concerted Action for ETP sperm whales in 2017, proposing collaborative efforts to address cultural dimensions in conservation. However, knowledge gaps and real-world implementation challenges persist. Here, we review the role of social transmission in shaping sperm whale behaviour and populations, outline current anthropogenic threats and environmental stressors they face in the ETP, and discuss the ongoing challenges of incorporating cultural dimensions into large-scale international conservation efforts. Strengthening transnational collaboration and capitalizing on new technologies for efficient analysis can help bridge these knowledge gaps and enhance future research on this iconic species.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Animal culture: conservation in a changing world’.

KW - Eastern Tropical Pacific

KW - Behaviour

KW - Conservation

KW - Anthropogenic threats

KW - Social transmission

KW - Sperm whale clans

U2 - 10.1098/rstb.2024.0142

DO - 10.1098/rstb.2024.0142

M3 - Review article

SN - 0962-8452

VL - 380

SP - 1

EP - 13

JO - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

JF - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

IS - 1925

M1 - 20240142

ER -

Integrating cultural dimensions in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) conservation: threats, challenges and solutions

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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