Human societies developed food preferences based on what was available and what the group decided it liked most. Those preferences were then passed along as part of the set of socially learned behaviors, values, knowledge and customs that make up culture. Besides humans, many other social animals are believed to exhibit forms of culture in various ways, too.

In fact, according to a new study led by Harvard scientist Liran Samuni, bonobos (倭黑猩猩), one of our closest living relatives, could be the latest addition to the list.

The researchers studied the hunting and feeding habits of two neighboring groups of bonobos at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Analyzing the data, they saw many similarities in the lives of the two bonobo groups, given the names the Ekalakala and the Kokoalongo. They also both have the access and opportunity to hunt the same kind of prey (猎物). This, however, is precisely where researchers noticed a striking difference.

The groups consistently preferred to hunt and feast on two different types of prey. The Ekalakala group went after an anomalure that is capable of moving through the air from tree to tree. The Kokoalongo group, on the other hand, favored a duiker that lives on the forest floor.

“It’s basically like two human cultures exploiting a common resource in different ways,” says Samuni. “Think about two cultures living close to each other but having different preferences: One prefers chicken while the other is more of a beef-eating culture.”

Using statistical modeling, the scientists found this behavior happens independent of factors like the location of the hunts, their timing or the season. In fact, the researchers’ model found that the only variable that could reliably predict prey preference was whether the hunters were team Ekalakala or team Kokoalongo.

The researchers haven’t yet investigated how the bonobo groups learned this hunting preference, but through their analysis they were able to rule out ecological factors or genetic differences.

Basically, it means all evidence points toward this being a learned social behavior. “If our closest living relatives have some cultural traits (特征), then it’s likely our ancestors already had some capacity for culture,” Samuni says.

Over the past half-century, North America has lost more than a quarter of its entire bird population, or around 3 billion birds.

“We saw this great net loss across the entire bird community,” says Ken Rosenberg, a scientist in Ithaca, N.Y. “But we also knew that other bird populations were increasing. And what we didn’t know is whether there was a net change.”

Common birds with decreasing populations include dark-eyed juncos and red-winged blackbirds, says Rosenberg. Grassland birds have suffered a 53% decrease, and more than a third of the shorebird population has been lost. Bird populations that have increased include raptors (猛禽), like the bald eagle, and waterfowl.

“The numbers of ducks and geese are larger than they’ve ever been, and that’s not an accident,” says Rosenberg. It’s because hunters who mainly want to see healthy waterfowl populations for sportful hunting have raised their voices.

“People are doing a wonderful effort to try and understand our bird populations with a lot of uncertainty, but the actual systems that we have in place to try and answer really tough questions like this are really far short of what we need,” Ted Simons in North Carolina State University says.

“In all, the conclusions weren’t necessarily surprising,” says Kristen Ruegg, a biologist at Colorado State University. There have been hints (暗示) that the loss was this large from all kinds of sources over the past few years. But in most cases, these were species-specific records of local extinctions or models of projected losses, resulting from things like climate change. This really sort of wakes people up to the idea that this is happening.

Elise Zipkin, a quantitative ecologist at Michigan State University, says the loss can be a big problem. “Just because a species hasn’t gone extinct (灭绝) or isn’t even necessarily close to extinction, it might still be in trouble,” she says. We need to be thinking about conservation (保护) efforts for that.”

A team of researchers from the University of Queensland, WCS, and other organizations, doing a first-of-its-kind analysis(分析), found that Indigenous(土著)Peoples' lands are important to the survival of thousands of species of threatened and endangered wildlife.

Publishing their results in the journal, Conservation Biology, the team found that 2,175 mammal(哺乳动物)species have 10 per cent or more of their ranges in Indigenous Peoples' lands. Of those, some 646 species have more than half of their ranges within these lands.

Until this study, information on species composition(组成)within Indigenous Peoples' lands worldwide remained largely unknown. Although the maps of Indigenous Peoples' lands are still incomplete, the data used are the best available. It is clear that the maps used in this study reflect only a small part of Indigenous Peoples' lands worldwide which further strengthens how important the protection of those lands and the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples are to the protection of biodiversity(生物多样性)worldwide.

The study shows that Indigenous Peoples and their lands are important for the long-term persistence(持续)of earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Indigenous Peoples' lands cover over one-quarter of the Earth's surface, an important part of which is still free from industrial-level human effects.

Said the study's senior author, James Watson of WCS and University of Queensland: "These results show just how important indigenous lands are for protection of mammals. As the biodiversity crisis grows, we must recognize that a necessary part to stopping the loss is greater recognition and support for Indigenous People's rights to and relationships with their land."

Across the planet, WCS works with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to achieve a shared wish for a more secure and bright future, where wildlife remains a visible(可见的), increasing, and culturally valued part of the wild places where our partners live and we work.