The reach of gene-culture coevolution in animals

Abstract

Culture (behaviour based on socially transmitted information) is present in diverse animal species, yet how it interacts with genetic evolution remains largely unexplored. Here, we review the evidence for gene-culture coevolution in animals, especially birds, cetaceans and primates. We describe how culture can relax or intensify selection under different circumstances, create new selection pressures by changing ecology or behaviour, and favour adaptations, including in other species. Finally, we illustrate how, through culturally mediated migration and assortative mating, culture can shape population genetic structure and diversity. This evidence suggests strongly that animal culture plays an important evolutionary role, and we encourage explicit analyses of gene-culture coevolution in nature.

Fig. 1

Principal interacting processes of gene–culture coevolution. Many behaviours are transmitted through culture and often give rise to adaptive phenotypic variation and subsequent genetic consequences (examples of both are provided). These changes in genes also feedback on cultural transmission. Orange boxes highlight common mechanisms

Fig. 2

Species whose culture may have affected their genetic evolution. a Young orangutan peering closely at mother’s skilled tool use in foraging. Predictions that the more extensive cultural repertoire of Sumatran compared with Bornean orangutans would be associated with neuro-cognitive superiority were confirmed on the neutral ground of cognitive tests in zoos. Image courtesy of Christiaan Conradie and Caroline Schuppli. b Young pack ice killer whale from the Antarctic assesses potential prey with mother. Members of this seal-feeding ecotype have evolved genes that assist in the digestion of mammal food. Image courtesy of Robert Pitman. c Great tits learn foraging techniques from one another. Compared with the relatively feeder-free Netherlands, great tits living in Britain where feeders are common have evolved stronger jaws that are more efficient at processing feeder food. Image used under licence from Fotolia/Nataba. d Female sperm whales live in tight matrilineal groups whose distinctive cultural behaviours may have reduced the diversity of hitchhiking mitochondrial genes. Image courtesy of Wayne Osborn