Data from: Naïve juveniles are more likely to become breeders after witnessing predator mobbing

Responding appropriately during the first predatory attack in life is often critical for survival. In many social species, naïve juveniles acquire this skill from conspecifics, but its fitness consequences remain virtually unknown. Here we experimentally demonstrate how naïve juvenile Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) derive a long-term fitness benefit from witnessing knowledgeable adults mobbing their principal predator, the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Siberian jays live in family groups of 2-6 individuals that also can include unrelated non-breeders. Field observations showed that Siberian jays only rarely encounter predators and indeed, naïve juveniles do not respond to predator models when on their own, but do when observing other individuals mobbing them. Predator exposure experiments demonstrated that naïve juveniles had a substantially higher first-winter survival after observing knowledgeable group members mobbing a goshawk model, increasing their likelihood of acquiring a breeding position later in life. Previous research showed that naïve individuals may learn from others how to respond to predators, care for offspring or choose mates, generally assuming that social learning has long-term fitness consequences without empirical evidence. Our results demonstrate a long-term fitness benefit of vertical social learning for naïve individuals in the wild, emphasizing its evolutionary importance in animals, including humans.