Charlotte Canteloup: "From social networks to social learning in wild vervet monkeys"

Talk link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3fjcXYqJ1Q

Talk abstract: In social species, network centralities of group members shape social transmission and other social phenomena. Social learning – learning from others – is a basis for traditions and is biased toward specific individuals or behaviours. While social learning biases have been mostly studied in isolation, their interaction and the interplay between individual and social learning is less understood. The study of information transmission is now enriched by the integration of the study of social relationships, aka social networks, and some powerful associated statistical tools. Such complementary approaches allow researchers to track the diffusion of behavioural innovations across social networks. In this talk, I will present different field-based open diffusion experiments I conducted in wild vervet monkeys in South Africa, coupled with network-based modelling approaches, to study transmission pathways of new behaviours.