Animal culture, defined as “information or behavior—shared within a community—which is acquired from conspecifics through some form of social learning” (1), can have important consequences for the survival and reproduction of individu-als, social groups, and potentially, entire populations (1, 2). Yet, until recently, conservation strategies and policies have focused primarily on broad demographic responses and the preservation of genetically defined, evolutionarily significant units. A burgeoning body of evidence on cultural transmis-sion and other aspects of sociality (3) is now affording critical insights into what should be conserved (going beyond the protection of genetic diversity, to consider adaptive aspects of phenotypic variation), and why specific conservation pro-grams succeed (e.g., through facilitating the resilience of cul-tural diversity) while others fail (e.g., by neglecting key repositories of socially transmitted knowledge). Here, we highlight how international legal instruments, such as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), can facilitate smart, targeted conservation of a wide range of taxa, by explicitly considering aspects of their sociality and cultures.

Animal cultures matter for conservation / Brakes, Philippa; Dall, Sasha R. X.; Aplin, Lucy M.; Bearhop, Stuart; Carroll, Emma L.; Ciucci, Paolo; Fishlock, Vicki; Ford, John K. B.; Garland, Ellen C.; Keith, Sally A.; Mcgregor, Peter K.; Mesnick, Sarah L.; Noad, Michael J.; Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe; Robbins, Martha M.; Simmonds, Mark P.; Spina, Fernando; Thornton, Alex; Wade, Paul R.; Whiting, Martin J.; Williams, James; Rendell, Luke; Whitehead, Hal; Whiten, Andrew; Rutz, Christian. - In: SCIENCE. - ISSN 0036-8075. - 363:6431(2019), pp. 1032-1034. [10.1126/science.aaw3557]

Animal cultures matter for conservation

Ciucci, Paolo
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2019

Abstract

Animal culture, defined as “information or behavior—shared within a community—which is acquired from conspecifics through some form of social learning” (1), can have important consequences for the survival and reproduction of individu-als, social groups, and potentially, entire populations (1, 2). Yet, until recently, conservation strategies and policies have focused primarily on broad demographic responses and the preservation of genetically defined, evolutionarily significant units. A burgeoning body of evidence on cultural transmis-sion and other aspects of sociality (3) is now affording critical insights into what should be conserved (going beyond the protection of genetic diversity, to consider adaptive aspects of phenotypic variation), and why specific conservation pro-grams succeed (e.g., through facilitating the resilience of cul-tural diversity) while others fail (e.g., by neglecting key repositories of socially transmitted knowledge). Here, we highlight how international legal instruments, such as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), can facilitate smart, targeted conservation of a wide range of taxa, by explicitly considering aspects of their sociality and cultures.
2019
animal culture; biodiveristy; conservation of migratory species; conservation policy; social learning; widlife management
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Animal cultures matter for conservation / Brakes, Philippa; Dall, Sasha R. X.; Aplin, Lucy M.; Bearhop, Stuart; Carroll, Emma L.; Ciucci, Paolo; Fishlock, Vicki; Ford, John K. B.; Garland, Ellen C.; Keith, Sally A.; Mcgregor, Peter K.; Mesnick, Sarah L.; Noad, Michael J.; Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe; Robbins, Martha M.; Simmonds, Mark P.; Spina, Fernando; Thornton, Alex; Wade, Paul R.; Whiting, Martin J.; Williams, James; Rendell, Luke; Whitehead, Hal; Whiten, Andrew; Rutz, Christian. - In: SCIENCE. - ISSN 0036-8075. - 363:6431(2019), pp. 1032-1034. [10.1126/science.aaw3557]
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Brakes_Animal_2019.pdf

solo gestori archivio

Note: http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2019/03/06/science.aau4532
Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 1.17 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.17 MB Adobe PDF   Contatta l'autore

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1239985
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 31
  • Scopus 125
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 119
social impact