Cultural flies: Conformist social learning in fruitflies predicts long-lasting mate-choice traditions

[en] Despite theoretical justification for the evolution of animal culture, empirical evidence for it beyond mammals and birds remains scant, and we still know little about the process of cultural inheritance. In this study, we propose a mechanism-driven definition of animal culture and test it in the fruitfly. We found that fruitflies have five cognitive capacities that enable them to transmit mating preferences culturally across generations, potentially fostering persistent traditions (the main marker of culture) in mating preference. A transmission chain experiment validates a model of the emergence of local traditions, indicating that such social transmission may lead initially neutral traits to become adaptive, hence strongly selecting for copying and conformity. Although this situation was suggested decades ago, it previously had little empirical support. © 2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.

Disciplines :

Environmental sciences & ecology

Author, co-author :

Danchin, E.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Nöbel, S.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France, Université Toulouse, Capitole and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Toulouse, France

Pocheville, A.; Department of Philosophy, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Dagaeff, A.-C.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Demay, Léa; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Alphand, M.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Ranty-Roby, S.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Van Renssen, L.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, 9747 AG, Netherlands

Monier, M.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Gazagne, Eva ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Form. doct. sc. (biol. orga. & écol. - paysage)

Allain, M.; Laboratoire Évolution and Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 118 route de Narbonne, Bat 4R1, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Isabel, G.; Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, Toulouse Cedex 9, F-31062, France

Language :

English

Title :

Cultural flies: Conformist social learning in fruitflies predicts long-lasting mate-choice traditions

Publication date :

2018

Journal title :

Science

ISSN :

0036-8075

eISSN :

1095-9203

Publisher :

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Volume :

362

Issue :

6418

Pages :

1025-1030

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 23 August 2019

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