Abstract
In Shark Bay, wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.)
apparently use marine sponges as foraging tools. We
demonstrate that genetic and ecological explanations
for this behavior are inadequate; thus, "sponging"
classifies as the first case of an existing material
culture in a marine mammal species. Using mitochondrial
DNA analyses, we show that sponging shows an almost
exclusive vertical social transmission within a single
matriline from mother to female offspring. Moreover,
significant genetic relatedness among all adult
spongers at the nuclear level indicates very recent
coancestry, suggesting that all spongers are
descendents of one recent "Sponging Eve." Unlike in
apes, tool use in this population is almost exclusively
limited to a single matriline that is part of a large
albeit open social network of frequently interacting
individuals, adding a new dimension to charting
cultural phenomena among animals.
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