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Evidence for animal culture is often based on studies of feeding behaviors, [8] vocalizations, [4] predator avoidance, [9] mate selection, [10] and migratory routes. [11] An important area of study for animal culture is vocal learning, the ability to make new sounds through imitation. [4] Most species cannot learn to imitate sounds.
Several instances of genetic assimilation have been documented contributing to natural selection in the wild. For example, populations of the island tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) have become isolated on islands and have larger heads to cope with large prey animals. Young populations have larger heads by phenotypic plasticity, whereas large ...
Lovebirds are well known for mirroring the behaviour of their cage-mates, a form of social facilitation. Social facilitation in animals is when the performance of a behaviour by an animal increases the probability of other animals also engaging in that behaviour or increasing the intensity of the behaviour.
The Baldwin effect compared to Lamarck's theory of evolution, Darwinian evolution, and Waddington's genetic assimilation. All the theories offer explanations of how organisms respond to a changed environment with adaptive inherited change. In evolutionary biology, the Baldwin effect describes an effect of learned behaviour on evolution.
Synchronous behavior is also threatened when animals in a mixed-sex herd have differing nutritional or physical necessities. This causes group instability which often splits the herd up into two separate groups; generally all male and all female, to recreate the mimetic behavior in a smaller, same-sex group that has more similar needs to the individual. [5]
Collective animal behaviour is a form of social behavior involving the coordinated behavior of large groups of similar animals as well as emergent properties of these groups. This can include the costs and benefits of group membership, the transfer of information, decision-making process, locomotion and synchronization of the group.
The influence of human behaviour on domesticated animals has led to many species having learned to co-exist - sometimes leading to the formation of an interspecies friendship. For example, interspecies friendships are often observed in humans with their domesticated pets and in pets that live in the same household such as cats and dogs. [1] [17]
Examples of studies that have explored these capacities and tendencies in primates are listed in a table within the ‘Research on Imitation and Emulation in Primates’ section below. Beyond the studies listed, in a naturalistic environment, imitative learning is seen in many animal species.