Phylogenetically independent comparisons and primate phylogeny

Purvis, Andy; Webster, Andrea J.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511542466.005

Cited by 82 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The observed associations were not caused by data points that qualified simultaneously for more than one measure, since these were removed. Nor are the associations an artefact of the covariance of each individual measure with brain volume, body mass or correlated error variance in research effort: analyses using residuals of each cognitive measure from [45]. Multiple convergent evolutionary events favoured high intelligence across primate lineages with independent responses to selection in Hominoidea, Macaca, Cebus and Papio.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of primate general and cultural intelligence

Reader

Hager

Laland

2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

393

335

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There are consistent individual differences in human intelligence, attributable to a single 'general intelligence' factor, g. The evolutionary basis of g and its links to social learning and culture remain controversial. Conflicting hypotheses regard primate cognition as divided into specialized, independently evolving modules versus a single general process. To assess how processes underlying culture relate to one another and other cognitive capacities, we compiled ecologically relevant cognitive measures from multiple domains, namely reported incidences of behavioural innovation, social learning, tool use, extractive foraging and tactical deception, in 62 primate species. All exhibited strong positive associations in principal component and factor analyses, after statistically controlling for multiple potential confounds. This highly correlated composite of cognitive traits suggests social, technical and ecological abilities have coevolved in primates, indicative of an across-species general intelligence that includes elements of cultural intelligence. Our composite species-level measure of general intelligence, 'primate g S ', covaried with both brain volume and captive learning performance measures. Our findings question the independence of cognitive traits and do not support 'massive modularity' in primate cognition, nor an exclusively social model of primate intelligence. High general intelligence has independently evolved at least four times, with convergent evolution in capuchins, baboons, macaques and great apes.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of primate general and cultural intelligence

Reader

Hager

Laland

2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

393

335

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Because data are unavailable for so many of these former sub-species, we largely ignore the new taxonomy. Instead, the phylogeny used in CAIC is based on Purvis' [27,28], with alterations made to account for the split of the Asian colobines into Trachypithecus and Presbytis [29, see also 30], and the separation of Lophocebus from Cercocebus [31]. Branch lengths (i.e., times from evolutionary splits and therefore times available to change), are as in Purvis [27].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Correlates of Extinction and Persistence of Primates in Small Forest Fragments: A Global Analysis

Gibbons

Harcourt

2009

Tropical Conservation Science

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Habitat loss and fragmentation are two of the main threats facing wildlife. The species at risk in small fragments are not a random subset of the original community. Understanding the biology behind the distinction between species at risk and more persistent species should help inform conservation efforts. We attempted to identify risky traits in a well-known taxon, the primates, by asking which traits distinguished taxa that differed in the size of the smallest fragment in which they were recorded. We assumed that taxa that could persist in smaller fragments were at less risk of extinction than those that needed larger fragments. The traits investigated are indicative of amount of habitat needed, reproductive rate, and specialization. We obtained from the literature information on the presence-absence of 68 primate species of 36 genera in forest fragments of less than 100 km 2 . Association between size of smallest fragment and biology was tested with regressions, Spearman correlations, two-sample t tests, and non-parametric Wilcoxon tests. We found no significant relationships between area of smallest fragment in which species or genera persisted and any of the biological parameters. We suggest that the most likely explanation for this unexpected finding is that the smallest fragments in which primates are currently studied are usually so small that all primate species in them are doomed in the long-term and therefore, no biological traits distinguish taxa at risk. The finding implies that conservation research and efforts should be directed at assessing the efficacy of forest fragments and small biological preserves in conserving primate species.

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“…for primates), and it cannot be responsible for any patterns detected in multiple regressions, especially if the same type of data is available for closely related species (as independent contrasts analyses are particularly vulnerable to error effects near the tips of the trees, cf. Purvis and Webster 1999). Neonate brain mass data have been taken from the compilation of .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%