Environmental variation and the evolution of large brains in birds

Sayol, Ferran; Maspons, Joan; Lapiedra, Oriol; Iwaniuk, Andrew N.; Székely, Tamás; Sol, Daniel

doi:10.1038/ncomms13971

Cited by 124 publications

(208 citation statements)

References 67 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

198

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…; Sayol et al. ; Vincze ). As during a longer life span, a greater number of unpredictable situations can be expected, a larger brain should facilitate the evolution of a longer life span via increasing individual survival probability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Large-brained frogs mature later and live longer

Zhong

et al. 2018

Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brain sizes vary substantially across vertebrate taxa, yet, the evolution of brain size appears tightly linked to the evolution of life histories. For example, larger brained species generally live longer than smaller brained species. A larger brain requires more time to grow and develop at a cost of exceeded gestation period and delayed weaning age. The cost of slower development may be compensated by better homeostasis control and increased cognitive abilities, both of which should increase survival probabilities and hence life span. To date, this relationship between life span and brain size seems well established in homoeothermic animals, especially in mammals. Whether this pattern occurs also in other clades of vertebrates remains enigmatic. Here, we undertake the first comparative test of the relationship between life span and brain size in an ectothermic vertebrate group, the anuran amphibians. After controlling for the effects of shared ancestry and body size, we find a positive correlation between brain size, age at sexual maturation, and life span across 40 species of frogs. Moreover, we also find that the ventral brain regions, including the olfactory bulbs, are larger in long-lived species. Our results indicate that the relationship between life history and brain evolution follows a general pattern across vertebrate clades.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Sayol et al. ; Vincze ). Indeed large‐brained birds and mammals survive better in novel environments (Sol et al., , ), which supports the brain size longevity correlation hypothesis in mammals (Allman et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-brained frogs mature later and live longer

Zhong

et al. 2018

Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Birds represent an ideal system for investigating this question because they contain some of the species with the largest brains of all vertebrates, and the evolution of enlarged brains has independently occurred in different lineages (Lefebvre et al 2004). Avian species with larger brains, relative to their body size, have been found to experience lower mortality and live longer than species with smaller brains (Sol et al 2007;Minias and Podlaszczuk 2017), and are also more successful at coping with the challenges presented by new, altered, and varying environments (Sol et al 2005a;Sayol et al 2016b;Fristoe et al 2017). The "cognitive buffer" provided by enlarged brains is also supported by ample evidence.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Larger brains spur species diversification in birds

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evidence is accumulating that species traits can spur their evolutionary diversification by influencing niche shifts, range expansions, and extinction risk. Previous work has shown that larger brains (relative to body size) facilitate niche shifts and range expansions by enhancing behavioral plasticity but whether larger brains also promote evolutionary diversification is currently backed by insufficient evidence. We addressed this gap by combining a brain size dataset for >1900 avian species worldwide with estimates of diversification rates based on two conceptually different phylogenetic‐based approaches. We found consistent evidence that lineages with larger brains (relative to body size) have diversified faster than lineages with relatively smaller brains. The best supported trait‐dependent model suggests that brain size primarily affects diversification rates by increasing speciation rather than decreasing extinction rates. In addition, we found that the effect of relatively brain size on species‐level diversification rate is additive to the effect of other intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Altogether, our results highlight the importance of brain size as an important factor in evolution and reinforce the view that intrinsic features of species have the potential to influence the pace of evolution.

show abstract

“…As such, humans have more in common with the non-migratory birds who have to find a way to deal with the colder winter environment. Studies of birds have revealed the expected patterns, namely that birds that live further north and in more seasonally affected areas have larger brains (controlling for body size), more flexible behavior, and more innovative behavior (T. C. Roth & Pravosudov, 2009;Sayol et al, 2016;Sol et al, 2005). Returning to humans, owing to a general dearth of measures of cognitive ability before about 1900, brain size and its primary proxy cranial capacity has generally been relied upon.…”

Section: Post-out Of Africa Human Divergence In Cognitive Abilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most useful species to study for this are those that enjoy a near-global habitat, are easy to study and has a larger number of species. Given these constraints, birds have been a primary choice of study (Sayol et al, 2016;Sol et al, 2010;Sol, Lefebvre, & Rodríguez-Teijeiro, 2005;Sol, Székely, Liker, & Lefebvre, 2007). It is important to note that one must be careful to not mix migratory and stationary birds in the studies indiscriminately (Sol et al, 2010).…”

Section: Post-out Of Africa Human Divergence In Cognitive Abilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic ancestry, cognitive ability, and socioeconomic outcomes

Kirkegaard¹,

Fuerst²,

Meisenberg³

2017

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Self-identified race/ethnicity (SIRE) groups are known to differ in average cognitive ability, socioeconomic status and genomic ancestry, but the causal paths are disputed. We used data from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics Study (PING; n = 1,369) to examine the relationship between cognitive ability, socioeconomic outcomes and genomic ancestry in the United States.In regression models using 4 different codings of SIRE as a covariate, we found non-trivial relationships between genomic ancestry and outcomes. The relationship between genomic ancestry and cognitive ability was reduced but was still substantial when parental socioeconomic status was controlled for. Interpretation of this is unclear due to possible genetic confounding. Relationships also held when Hispanics and African Americans were analyzed alone.In this sample, the mean IQ by ancestry was approximately 100 for European, 78 for African, and 86 for Amerindian. The sample sizes for the remaining ancestries were too small to produce reliable estimates. The results are consistent with genetic models of cognitive and social inequality, but also with certain environmental models. More sophisticated studies are possible and necessary to resolve the question.

show abstract

Environmental variation and the evolution of large brains in birds

Cited by 124 publications

References 67 publications

Large-brained frogs mature later and live longer

Large-brained frogs mature later and live longer

Larger brains spur species diversification in birds

Genomic ancestry, cognitive ability, and socioeconomic outcomes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About