Cetacean cooperation: a new perspective on the evolution of social cognition

Whales and dolphins - collectively known as cetaceans - have rich and complex social lives (Whitehead and Rendell, 2015). They act together and form social networks. Groups of bottlenose dolphins engage in foraging behaviour with a recognisable division of labour and role specialisation (Hamilton et al., 2022). Male bottlenose dolphins form complex multi-level alliances that cooperate over access to females (Connor and Krutzen, 2015). Sperm whales have hierarchical and multi-layered social structures that can span entire oceans (Cantor et al., 2015).

This project will consider the significance of cetacean cooperation. Research questions:
1. What does the evidence on cooperation in cetaceans reveal about the kind of thinking of which they are capable?
2. What does cetacean cooperation tell us about the social mechanisms required for cooperation?
3. What does cetacean cooperation tell us about the evolution of cooperation and social cognition?