Diffusion Dynamics of Socially Learned Foraging Techniques in Squirrel Monkeys

• Published in: Current biology Vol. 23; no. 13; pp. 1251 - 1255
• Main Authors: Claidière, Nicolas, Messer, Emily J.E., Hoppitt, William, Whiten, Andrew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 08-07-2013
• Subjects: animal behavior; Animals; Feeding Behavior; Female; foraging; Learning; Male; monkeys; probability; Saimiri; Saimiri - physiology; Social Behavior; social networks
• ISSN: 0960-9822; 1879-0445
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.05.036

Social network analyses [1–5] and experimental studies of social learning [6–10] have each become important domains of animal behavior research in recent years yet have remained largely separate. Here we bring them together, providing the first demonstration of how social networks may shape the diffusion of socially learned foraging techniques [11]. One technique for opening an artificial fruit was seeded in the dominant male of a group of squirrel monkeys and an alternative technique in the dominant male of a second group. We show that the two techniques spread preferentially in the groups in which they were initially seeded and that this process was influenced by monkeys’ association patterns. Eigenvector centrality predicted both the speed with which an individual would first succeed in opening the artificial fruit and the probability that they would acquire the cultural variant seeded in their group. These findings demonstrate a positive role of social networks in determining how a new foraging technique diffuses through a population.
•Alternative foraging techniques spread after experimental seeding in two groups•Centrality in social foraging networks predicted the speed of learned success•Individuals with high centrality were more likely to acquire the seeded technique•Centrality mattered more than age in predicting social learning