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Teaching in marine mammals? Anecdotes versusscience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2001

Dario Maestripieri
Affiliation:
Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 d-maestripieri@uchicago.edu whitham@midway.uchicago.edu
Jessica Whitham
Affiliation:
Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 d-maestripieri@uchicago.edu whitham@midway.uchicago.edu
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Abstract

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The use of anecdotes is not a viable research strategy to studyanimal culture. Social learning processes can often be documentedwith careful quantitative analyses of observational data.Unfortunately, suggestions that killer whales engage in teaching areentirely based on subjective interpretations of qualitativeobservations. Thus, “evidence” of teaching in killer whales cannotbe used to argue for the occurrence of culture in marinemammals.

Information

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press