PhD‐theses - Ethologische Gesellschaft

TESTING FOR SOCIAL DIFFUSION OF TWO NOVEL FORAGING SKILLS AND CONFORMITY IN
WILD REDFRONTED LEMURS (EULEMUR RUFIFRONS)
Anna Viktoria Schnöll
a0402262@unet.univie.ac.at
Research Update
Diplom Thesis, supervised by Dr. Claudia Fichtel, Prof. Dr. Peter Kappeler, Abt. Verhaltensökologie &
Soziobiologie, Deutsches Primatenzentrum , Göttingen, Prof. Dr. Ludwig HIber, Abt. Kognitive
Biologie, Universität Wien
Recent research revealed that traditions are not a unique feature of human culture, but that
they can be found in animal societies as well. However, the underlying mechanisms and
conditions leading to social diffusion of newly invented behaviours, as well as the
importance of the formation of traditions for animals living in the wild, are still poorly
understood. To address these questions, I conducted a social diffusion experiment with
three wild groups of redfronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons). I used a ‘two‐option’ feeding
box, where animals could either open or push a door to get access to a fruit reward to study
whether and how the trait spreads through the groups. Half of the 28 study animals were
able to learn the new feeding skills and mainly kept a seeded technique (groups with
training) or adjusted (group without training) their behaviour to the majority of the group.
Individuals observing others more often needed fewer trials until they could successfully
open the door, indicating that social learning played an important role in acquiring the task.
An option bias analysis suggested that social learning was involved in the spread of the novel
behaviours, whereas a network‐based diffusion analysis indicated pure asocial learning.
Moreover, redfronted lemurs invented a third technique for accessing the reward:
scrounging. Interestingly they did not scrounge more often from kin. Thus, redfronted
lemurs are able to form behavioural traditions. In addition, these results suggest that the
study animals did not simply keep the first rewarded technique but showed a high flexibility
in choosing between social and individual learning.
21