Social transmission of a novel foraging trait in yellow-bellied marmots
Abstract
Social transmission of novel behaviors can be an adaptive technique to rapidly and flexibly change responses to the surrounding environment. Although the dynamics of social transmission have been studied in highly social birds, primates, otters, and bats, we lack a solid understanding of the dynamics of social transmission in less social species, for which weaker social relationships may be less conducive for social transmission. To explore this knowledge gap, we tested a facultatively social species, yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer), for presence of social transmission in a novel foraging task. We introduced a novel foraging behavior into a wild population with a 2-action puzzle box and studied the diffusion of this trait through the colonies’ social network with network-based diffusion analysis (NBDA). In two out of four successful diffusion we found that a social transmission model fit better than an asocial model. From this we infer that social transmission is conditionally used by certain marmot groups and may thus be a cognitive ability used by wild groups of less social species.
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References (41)
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