Final answer:
The potato-washing behavior among Japanese macaques illustrates how behavioral innovations are transmitted across generations via observation and mimicry, playing a vital role in the species' survival and evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The example of potato washing by Imo and other Japanese macaques demonstrated how behavioral innovations can spread within a species and can be critical to its survival. In this case, the innovation constituted a new behavioral practice of washing potatoes which not only improved food cleanliness but also presumably tasted better since it removed sand. This behavioral change likely aided in the survival of the macaques who practiced it, and over time, this innovation was transmitted across generations.
By observing and mimicking the behaviors of older generations, new generations of Japanese macaques learned this beneficial behavior, indicating that the capabilities for learning and transmission of cultural knowledge are present in non-human animals. Additionally, this process shows that innovations play a role in natural selection, as behaviors that confer survival advantages can be passed on to succeeding generations and thus spread throughout a population. Behavioral innovations such as this one highlight the role of learning and cultural transmission in the evolution of species.