19.03.2024 - Olga Filatova

Each pod of killer whales shares a socially transmitted repertoire of stereotyped calls – a vocal dialect. These dialects change with time through the process of cultural evolution. We examine macro- and microevolutionary patterns by analyzing vocal repertoires on different levels – from ecotype to matriline – and comparing them with the outcomes of agent-based computer model of dialect evolution. In general, we conclude that the cultural evolution of killer whale calls is not a random process driven by steady error accumulation alone: other mechanisms such as innovation and simultaneous divergence and convergence on different scales play an important role.