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Dr Luke Rendell

Reader

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 3499

Email

ler4@st-andrews.ac.uk

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Research areas

"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 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.

Latest paper(s)

Population isolation and bottlenecks can affect cultural evolution. This has been shown in bird vocal dialects but is less studied in mammals. The isolated and weakly structured population of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Mediterranean Sea provide an opportunity to address this knowledge gap. We studied dialect variation in this population using the species’ primary social vocalization, stereotyped patterns of clicks called codas. We analysed 5291 codas recorded over 112 days between 2003 and 2021 from both the western and eastern deep-water basins of the Mediterranean Sea. We confirmed previous studies showing the dominance of codas with a 3+1 pattern but also identified two distinct dialect groups. The 2+1 and slow 3+1 coda types identified the western dialect while the 8I and fast 3++1 coda types identified the eastern dialect. Notably, groups recorded in the east occasionally produced the ‘western’ slow 3+1 coda types but the converse was not true, suggesting a directionality in dialect formation. The similarities between the apparent effects of isolation on sperm whale dialects and isolation effects reported in studies of the cultural evolution of both bird song dialects and human languages suggest convergences in vocal dialect evolution across social taxa.

Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) are the world's rarest seal species, with fewer than 1000 individuals remaining across fragmented subpopulations. Monitoring this species is challenging due to their low densities and difficult-to-access habitats. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data can be used to detect small numbers of animals over large areas, but for effective long-term PAM, it is essential to characterize the species' vocalizations throughout its range. This study provides a comprehensive description of the monk seal vocal repertoire in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, Greece, and the first published documentation of the species vocalizing underwater. Acoustic recorders collected continuous data over 16 days during the breeding season in 2021. We identified 3442 calls, 1855 of which were determined to be high-quality and classified into ten call types within three broader categories. Video footage collected in 2019 and 2021 documented the seals producing five common call types, which comprised ∼87% of the recorded calls. Our findings offer insights into the structure of the monk seal vocal repertoire and lay the groundwork for long-term monitoring for this rare species using PAM, which could be an important tool for monitoring monk seals going forwards.

Book
Our book,�� is��even��available��at��! Hear it discussed on��. Listen to a podcast of a discussion between myself and author Phillip Hoare at the LSE Philosophy Forum��

Research

I have been studying the��,����and societies of sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales, showing how long lasting social groups use distinctive����that��. Part of this work is my involvement in running the����and as a collaborator of the��.

In whales and dolphins we find examples of both����and apparently��, a simple form of culture. I am using statistical models to assess the evidence for��.

Archerfish have the highly specialised hunting tactic of shooting down prey with water jets. The dexterity and accuracy with which they do this has made them a model system in visual cognition. We are studying their and learning to understand how this adaptation has interacted with their cognition.

I use experimental approaches to understand how we negotiate the trade-offs involved in��, as a window into����to make best use of our��.

Evolutionary modelling
I also use evolutionary����to understand how these processes like����might have evolved, and how they might be related to the evolution of other kinds of behaviour, such as cooperation and��.

Outreach

We value outreach work highly. Here are some links to some recent activities that myself and other lab members have been involved with:��

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PhD supervision

• Angela��Amlin
• Laia��Garrobé Fonollosa
• Jeanne��Merindol
• Melissa��Ramsay

Selected publications

• Open access
  Eichenberger, F., Carroll, E. L., Garrigue, C., Jarmon, S., Steel, D. J., Robbins, J., Rendell, L. & Garland, E. C., 9 Mar 2026, In: Current Biology. 36, 5, p. 1115-1127.e4 17 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Wild, S. & Rendell, L., 12 Jan 2026, The evolution of cetacean societies: uncovering the social complexity of whales and dolphins. Croft, D. P., Foote, A. D., Garland, E. C. & King, S. L. (eds.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, p. 281-307 27 p.

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Open access
  Hersh, T., Alexiadou, P., Brotons, J. M., Cerdà, M., Pirotta, E., Frantzis, A. & Rendell, L., Jun 2026, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 293, 2073, p. 1-11 11 p., 20260165.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Burslem, A., Cerdà, M., Brotons, T., Rendell, L., Silva, M. A. & Prieto, R., Apr 2026, In: Marine Mammal Science. 42, 2, p. 1-7 7 p., e70153.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Wray, J., O'Mahony, É., Baer, G., Robinson, N., Dundas, A., Gaggiotti, O., Rendell, L. & Keen, E., Jan 2026, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 293, 2063, p. 1-12 12 p., 20252409.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Amlin, A., Rendell, L. E., Pierantonio, N., Carmen Andrés-Hervías , C., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Hastie, G. D. & Gonzalvo, J., Apr 2025, In: Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 157, 4, p. 3204–3213 10 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Garland, E. C., Corkeron, P., Noad, M. J., Abrahms, B., Allen, J. A., Constantine, R., Rendell, L., Sousa-Lima, R. S., Stafford, K. M. & Carroll, E. L., 1 May 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1925, p. 1-11 11 p., 20240133.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

• Open access
  Marwood, E. M., Eichenberger, F., Kobayashi, N., Okabe, H., Ozawa, S., Rendell, L. E. & Garland, E. C., Feb 2025, In: Royal Society Open Science. 12, 2, 15 p., 241388.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Open access
  Eguiguren, A., Avila, I., Mesnick, S., Cantor, M., Hersh, T., Pérez-Puig, H., Rosero, P., Rendell, L., Whitehead, H., Rojas, C. & Alava, J. J., 1 May 2025, In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 380, 1925, p. 1-13 13 p., 20240142.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

• Open access
  Eichenberger, F., Garrigue, C., Steele, D., Bonneville, C. D., Rendell, L. E. & Garland, E. C., 8 Jan 2025, In: Royal Society Open Science. 12, 1, 20 p., 241424.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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