Animal Culture in Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract

Abstract Social learning forms the basis for behaviour across diverse species, which can lead to stable behaviours being maintained within social groups or populations. These forms of non-human culture can be disrupted by population decline and human activity and can accelerate human-wildlife conflict behaviours. There is a growing recognition that cultural processes and cultural behaviours are therefore relevant and necessary for biodiversity conservation. When applied to conservation management and policy, culture can be used to define units of biodiversity worth preserving, serve as a mechanism explaining the decline of species or spread of deleterious behaviour, and used as a tool for manipulating behaviour for conservation gain. While these types of protections and interventions are still rarely employed, there are increasing opportunities for application. This chapter explores the value of understanding cultural behaviours and their transmission mechanisms for informing species’ conservation, helping highlight specific areas where the gap between non-human cultural research and management action can be narrowed to improve conservation outcomes.