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dc.contributor.authorBossley, M.
dc.contributor.authorSteiner, A.
dc.contributor.authorBrakes, P.
dc.contributor.authorShrimpton, J.
dc.contributor.authorFoster, C.
dc.contributor.authorRendell, L.
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-11T12:30:11Z
dc.date.available2018-09-11T12:30:11Z
dc.date.issued2018-09
dc.identifier.citationBossley , M , Steiner , A , Brakes , P , Shrimpton , J , Foster , C & Rendell , L 2018 , ' Tail walking in a bottlenose dolphin community : the rise and fall of an arbitrary cultural 'fad' ' , Biology Letters , vol. 14 , no. 9 , 20180314 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0314en
dc.identifier.issn1744-9561
dc.identifier.otherPURE: 255731953
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 703445f4-3474-4be2-955f-de1a6970d9ab
dc.identifier.otherBibtex: urn:82d3c5815a0bcc49fcf8127372acfb5e
dc.identifier.otherScopus: 85054473751
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-1121-9142/work/60428017
dc.identifier.otherWOS: 000446255400003
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/16007
dc.descriptionM.B. was supported by multiple grants from Whale & Dolphin Conservation (WDC).en
dc.description.abstractSocial learning of adaptive behaviour is widespread in animal populations, but the spread of arbitrary behaviours is less common. In this paper, we describe the rise and fall of a behaviour called tail walking, where a dolphin forces the majority of its body vertically out of the water and maintains the position by vigourously pumping its tail, in a community of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). The behaviour was introduced into the wild following the rehabilitation of a wild female individual, Billie, who was temporarily co-housed with trained dolphins in a dolphinarium. This individual was sighted performing the behaviour seven years after her 1988 release, as was one other female dolphin named Wave. Initial production of the behaviour was rare, but following Billie's death two decades after her release, Wave began producing the behaviour at much higher rates, and several other dolphins in the community were subsequently sighted performing the behaviour. Social learning is the most likely mechanism for the introduction and spread of this unusual behaviour, which has no known adaptive function. These observations demonstrate the potential strength of the capacity for spontaneous imitation in bottlenose dolphins, and help explain the origin and spread of foraging specializations observed in multiple populations of this genus.
dc.format.extent5
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofBiology Lettersen
dc.rights© 2018, the Author(s). This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0314en
dc.subjectSocial learningen
dc.subjectCultural transmissionen
dc.subjectCetaceanen
dc.subjectBottlenose dolphinen
dc.subjectQH301 Biologyen
dc.subjectDASen
dc.subject.lccQH301en
dc.titleTail walking in a bottlenose dolphin community : the rise and fall of an arbitrary cultural 'fad'en
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.description.versionPostprinten
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Biologyen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolutionen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Uniten
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotlanden
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Bioacoustics groupen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Centre for Biological Diversityen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0314
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.identifier.urlhttps://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4198145en


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