Profile

Dr Luke Rendell
MASTS Reader in Biology
"The true biologist deals with life, with teeming boisterous life, and learns something from it, learns that the first rule of life is living"
John Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez
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I am a Reader in Biology supported by the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS). I am affiliated with the Scottish Ocean Institute, Sea Mammal Research Unit, the Centre for Biological Diversity, the Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and the Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences.
I have broad research interests, largely centred around the evolution of learning, behaviour and communication, with a special focus on marine mammals.
In this study we investigated whether archerfish display any behavioural changes in response to the presence of an audience while using their specialized foraging tactic of spitting precisely aimed jets of water at prey targets. We found that in the presence of another fish, archerfish took longer to shoot, made more orientations (aiming events) per shot, and tended to be closer to the target at the time of shooting. Our results show that archerfish are sensitive to, and adjust their shooting behaviour in response to, the presence of an audience and highlight the importance of social context in this fish species.
The ability to build progressively on the achievements of earlier generations is central to human uniqueness, but experimental investigations of this cumulative cultural evolution lack real-world complexity. We studied the dynamics of cumulative culture using a large-scale data set from online collaborative programming competitions run over 14 years. Results showed that cumulative cultural evolution reduces technological diversity over time, as populations focus on refining high-performance solutions. While individual entries borrow from few sources, iterative copying allows populations to integrate ideas from many sources, demonstrating a new form of collective intelligence. Our results imply that maximising technological progress requires accepting high levels of failure.
Book
Our book, The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins is even available at Amazon! Hear it discussed on BBC Radio 4's "Start the Week". Listen to a podcast of a discussion between myself and author Phillip Hoare at the LSE Philosophy Forum here
Research
Sperm whale society and ecology
I have been studying the ecology, communication and societies of sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales, showing how long lasting social groups use distinctive vocal dialects that appear to be culturally transmitted. Part of this work is my involvement in running the Balearics Sperm Whale Project and as a collaborator of the Dominica Sperm Whale Project.
Culture in whales and dolphins
In whales and dolphins we find examples of both complex communication and apparently widespread social learning, a simple form of culture. I am using statistical models to assess the evidence for social learning in wild cetaceans.
Evolutionary modelling
I also use evolutionary simulation models to understand how these processes like social learning might have evolved, and how they might be related to the evolution of other kinds of behaviour, such as cooperation and niche-construction.
Human social learning
I use experimental approaches to understand how we negotiate the trade-offs involved in deciding whether to use social information to make simple decisions, as a window into how we have evolved to make best use of our cultural inheritance.
East Coast Marine Mammal Acoustic Study (ECOMMAS)
We are deploying passive listening buoys along the Scottish coastline in collaboration with Marine Scotland Science to monitor the impact of coastal windfarm development and also to give insight into acoustic behaviour of marine mammals.
Science without borders!
Hey world! #ScienceIsGlobal pic.twitter.com/JNm3OhuxW3
— Luke Rendell (@_lrendell) September 12, 2016
Alumni
Dr Charlotte Dunn finished her PhD "Insights into Blainville's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) communication" in January 2015
Dr Thomas Morgan completed his PhD, co-supervised with Kevin Laland and titled "Experimental studies of human social learning and its evolution" in December 2013
Dr Laurel Fogarty completed her PhD, co-supervised with Kevin Laland and titled "From social learning to culture: Mathematical and computational models of cultural evolution" in June 2012
Dr Ricardo Antunes completed his PhD, co-supervised with Phil Hammond and Jonathan Gordon, and titled "Variation in sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) coda vocalizations and social structure in the North Atlantic Ocean" in March 2009
Recent publications
5 (of 5 published available) for ler4 with keyword Movement clear keyword filter. (source: University of St Andrews PURE)
Please click title of any item for full details.
Marine Ecology Progress Series
vol.609 pp.257-270
(Article)
A Eguiguren, E Pirotta, M Cantor, Luke Edward Rendell, H Whitehead
Keywords: Habitat preference, Cetacean, Culture, Generalized additive model, GAM, Generalized estimating equation, GEE, Galápagos
Marine Mammal Science
vol.33 pp.356-364
(Article)
John Durban, Jessica Shaffer, David Moretti, Peter Lloyd Tyack, Luke Edward Rendell
Endangered Species Research
vol.23 pp.241-252
(Article)
Susannah J. Buchan, Rodrigo Hucke-Gaete, Luke Edward Rendell, Kathleen M. Stafford
Keywords: Chile, Southeast Pacific, Balaenoptera musculus , Whale song, Bioacoustics
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
vol.24 pp.31-40
(Article)
Luke Edward Rendell, S. Simião, J. M. Brotons, S. Airoldi, D. Fasano, A. Gannier
Keywords: Sperm whale, Mediterranean, Abundance, Movement, Photo-identification
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
vol.24 pp.23-30
(Article)
Eva Carpinelli, Pauline Gauffier, Philippe Verborgh, Sabina Airoldi, Léa David, Nathalie Di-Méglio, Ana Maria Canadas, Alexandros Frantzis, Luke Edward Rendell, Tim Lewis, Barbara Mussi, Daniela Silvia Pace, Renaud De Stephanis
Keywords: Strait of Gibraltar, photo-ID catalogues, Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean sub-population, conservation, data sharing
Contact Details:
Dr Luke RendellHarold Mitchell Building
University of St Andrews
St Andrews
KY16 9TH
Fife
UK
tel: 01334 463499
fax:
room: 308
email: ler4@st-andrews.ac.uk
Related:
research@st-andrewsSea Mammal Research Unit
Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution
School of Biology
Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences
IBANS Animal Cognition
Biology Teaching: PG Student Staff Consultative Committee
Centre for Biological Diversity
Scottish Oceans Institute
Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland
Biology Postgraduate Teaching Committee
BDG
The Sir John Templeton Foundation
Biology Ethics Committee
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The Secretary
Scottish Oceans Institute
Institiud Chuantan na h-Alba
Gatty Marine Laboratory
East Sands St Andrews
KY16 8LB
Scotland
UK
tel: +44 (0) 1334 463472
fax: +44 (0) 1334 463443
email: soi@st-andrews.ac.uk
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