Abstract

The study of social transmission in the wild – where animals alter their behaviour after observing the behaviour of others – is booming. Examples exist from whales to birds to bees, and we now know that social information spreads and shapes behaviour even in model organisms such as Drosophila. This suggests that social transmission could be a widespread and potent force in altering how populations respond to changing conditions, including their interactions with other species. Theoretical and verbal discussions suggest that this might even require extending the modern evolutionary synthesis; nevertheless, our understanding of how vertical and horizontal transmission of non-genetic information mediates selection and shapes evolutionary trajectories remains limited. Here I’ll present some empirical examples from my group where we are exploring how considering social transmission of behaviour can resolve co-evolutionary puzzles, and perhaps even have applied outcomes for conservation.