Cooperation by non-kin during birth underpins sperm whale social complexity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Maalouf, Alaa; Delpreto, Joseph; Lucas, Maxime; Poetto, Simone; Andreas, Jacob; Torralba, Antonio; Gero, Shane; Petri, Giovanni; Rus, Daniela; Gruber, David F.
• 署名单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); University of Haifa; University of Namur; University of Namur; Universite Catholique Louvain; Nicolaus Copernicus University; Carleton University; City University of New York (CUNY) System; Baruch College (CUNY); City University of New York (CUNY) System
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ady9280
• 发表日期: 2026-03-26
• 页码: 1355-1360
• 关键词: Synchronization; EVOLUTION; predation; network; units

摘要

We quantitatively document a sperm whale birth event, revealing collective support behaviors across kinship lines. Using high-resolution drone footage, computer vision, and multiscale network analysis, we studied the interactions within a Caribbean sperm whale unit comprising two matrilines. Our results suggest that a female family member led birth assistance and that after delivery, all individuals oriented toward and helped lift the newborn, taking turns in a coordinated, cross-kin effort. Despite historically observed foraging segregation, kinship barriers dissolved as all unit members contributed. These analyses provide evidence of birth attendance, or assistance, in a nonprimate species, a behavior long considered characteristic only of humans and their close relatives.