Recognizing the culture of whales in order to better protect them

Thus, whales possess a great deal of knowledge that is not inherited, but rather passed on through social learning. A whale can learn a new hunting technique by observing a member of its own species. As it is passed along within a population or a smaller group, this knowledge can then become the norm, meaning it becomes a cultural behaviour specific to a given group.

Social learning and culture are not unique to humans and dolphins. The authors of the study describe examples of cultural behaviours in monkeys and other land mammals, birds, and even fish! Behaviours studied mainly concern hunting and feeding techniques, migration routes and means of communication such as whale and bird songs. Numerous other cultural behaviours have been observed in whales, many of which are presented in the documentary series Secrets of the Whales.

In the case of St. Lawrence belugas, researchers are working hard to unlock the mysteries of their social organization in order to better protect this endangered population. To better understand the effect of maritime traffic on belugas, researcher Clément Chion has designed a simulator that reproduces not only the movements of belugas, but also their social structure and their habitat preferences. “Already, this simulator has enabled us to determine that if we increase maritime traffic in the Saguenay, we should anticipate a greater impact on those communities that regularly visit the Saguenay,” explains GREMM Scientific Director Robert Michaud.

Conservation programs generally aim to preserve the genetic variability of a species. More and more, however, cultural variability is recognized as a component that must also be preserved. In the St. Lawrence, it is believed that there are three distinct communities of female belugas, each with its preferred habits and habitats. “By protecting each of these communities, we will also be sure that we preserve the full variety of strategies that are transmitted in the matrilineal lineages,” explains Robert Michaud.

In the years to come, more and more will be learned about the culture of St. Lawrence beluga communities. After studying allomaternal a.k.a. “babysitting” behaviour in the course of her master’s degree, Jaclyn Aubin is back for a PhD project on beluga vocal repertoires. The hypothesis is that contact calls, i.e. sounds used for communication between a mother and her calf and to maintain group cohesion, show more similarities within a given community than between communities. We could therefore say that there are several dialects within the St. Lawrence beluga population. “This is likely a tangible element of the culture that we would like to protect as such,” concludes Robert Michaud.