1
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Mahoney SM, Pasch B. Evolutionary lability of food caching behaviour in mammals. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:862-875. [PMID: 38831563 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Food hoarding provides animals access to resources during periods of scarcity. Studies on mammalian caching indicate associations with brain size, seasonality and diet but are biased to a subset of rodents. Whether the behaviour is generalizable at other taxonomic scales and/or is influenced by other ecological factors is less understood. Population density may influence food caching due to food competition or pilferage, but this remains untested in a comparative framework. Using phylogenetic analyses, we assessed the role of morphology (body and brain size), climate, diet breadth and population density on food caching behaviour evolution at multiple taxonomic scales. We also used a long-term dataset on caching behaviour of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus fremonti) to test key factors (climate and population density) on hoarding intensity. Consistent with previous smaller scale studies, we found the mammalian ancestral state for food caching was larderhoarding, and scatterhoarding was derived. Caching strategy was strongly associated with brain size, population density and climate. Mammals with larger brains and hippocampal volumes were more likely to scatterhoard, and species living at higher population densities and in colder climates were more likely to larderhoard. Finer-scale analyses within families, sub-families and tribes indicated that the behaviour is evolutionary labile. Brain size in family Sciuridae and tribe Marmotini was larger in scatterhoarders, but not in other tribes. Scatterhoarding in tribe Marmotini was more likely in species with lower population densities while scatterhoarding in tribe Sciurini was associated with warmer climates. Red squirrel larderhoarding intensity was positively related to population density but not climate, implicating food competition or pilferage as an important mechanism mediating caching behaviour. Our results are consistent with previous smaller-scale studies on food caching and indicate the evolutionary patterns of mammalian food caching are broadly generalizable. Given the lability of caching behaviour as evidenced by the variability of our results at finer phylogenetic scales, comparative analyses must consider taxonomic scale. Applying our results to conservation could prove useful as changes in population density or climate may select for different food caching strategies and thus can inform management of threatened and endangered species and their habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean M Mahoney
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Bret Pasch
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
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2
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McMinds R, Jiang RHY, Adapa SR, Cornelius Ruhs E, Munds RA, Leiding JW, Downs CJ, Martin LB. Bacterial sepsis triggers stronger transcriptomic immune responses in larger primates. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240535. [PMID: 38917861 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Empirical data relating body mass to immune defence against infections remain limited. Although the metabolic theory of ecology predicts that larger organisms would have weaker immune responses, recent studies have suggested that the opposite may be true. These discoveries have led to the safety factor hypothesis, which proposes that larger organisms have evolved stronger immune defences because they carry greater risks of exposure to pathogens and parasites. In this study, we simulated sepsis by exposing blood from nine primate species to a bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), measured the relative expression of immune and other genes using RNAseq, and fitted phylogenetic models to determine how gene expression was related to body mass. In contrast to non-immune-annotated genes, we discovered hypermetric scaling in the LPS-induced expression of innate immune genes, such that large primates had a disproportionately greater increase in gene expression of immune genes compared to small primates. Hypermetric immune gene expression appears to support the safety factor hypothesis, though this pattern may represent a balanced evolutionary mechanism to compensate for lower per-transcript immunological effectiveness. This study contributes to the growing body of immune allometry research, highlighting its importance in understanding the complex interplay between body size and immunity over evolutionary timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan McMinds
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases Research (GHIDR), University of South Florida , Tampa, FL, USA
- USF Genomics Program, University of South Florida College of Public Health , Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Rays H Y Jiang
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases Research (GHIDR), University of South Florida , Tampa, FL, USA
- USF Genomics Program, University of South Florida College of Public Health , Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Swamy R Adapa
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases Research (GHIDR), University of South Florida , Tampa, FL, USA
- USF Genomics Program, University of South Florida College of Public Health , Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Emily Cornelius Ruhs
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases Research (GHIDR), University of South Florida , Tampa, FL, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL, USA
- Grainger Bioinformatics Center, Field Museum of Natural History , Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Rachel A Munds
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases Research (GHIDR), University of South Florida , Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Jennifer W Leiding
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medicine , St Petersburg, FL, USA
- Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital , St Petersburg, FL, USA
| | - Cynthia J Downs
- Department of Environmental Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry , Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Lynn B Martin
- Center for Global Health and Infectious Diseases Research (GHIDR), University of South Florida , Tampa, FL, USA
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3
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Merchant HN, Thirkell JE, Portugal SJ. No evidence for a signal in mammalian basal metabolic rate associated with a fossorial lifestyle. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11297. [PMID: 38760353 PMCID: PMC11101413 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61595-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024] Open
Abstract
A vast array of challenging environments are inhabited by mammals, such as living in confined spaces where oxygen levels are likely to be low. Species can exhibit adaptations in basal metabolic rate (BMR) to exploit such unique niches. In this study we use 801 species to determine the relationship between BMR and burrow use in mammals. We included pre-existing data for mammalian BMR and 16 life history traits. Overall, mammalian BMR is dictated primarily by environmental ambient temperature. There were no significant differences in BMR of terrestrial, semi-fossorial and fossorial mammals, suggesting that species occupying a subterranean niche do not exhibit baseline metabolic costs on account of their burrowing lifestyle. Fossorial mammals likely show instantaneous metabolic responses to low oxygen in tunnels, rather than exhibit adaptive long-term responses in their BMR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana N Merchant
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Jack E Thirkell
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Steven J Portugal
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OX1 3SZ, Oxford, United Kingdom
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4
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Hirsch BT, Kays R, Alavi S, Caillaud D, Havmoller R, Mares R, Crofoot M. Smarter foragers do not forage smarter: a test of the diet hypothesis for brain expansion. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240138. [PMID: 38808448 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
A leading hypothesis for the evolution of large brains in humans and other species is that a feedback loop exists whereby intelligent animals forage more efficiently, which results in increased energy intake that fuels the growth and maintenance of large brains. We test this hypothesis for the first time with high-resolution tracking data from four sympatric, frugivorous rainforest mammal species (42 individuals) and drone-based maps of their predominant feeding trees. We found no evidence that larger-brained primates had more efficient foraging paths than smaller brained procyonids. This refutes a key assumption of the fruit-diet hypothesis for brain evolution, suggesting that other factors such as temporal cognition, extractive foraging or sociality have been more important for brain evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben T Hirsch
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panamá
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Roland Kays
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panamá
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Shauhin Alavi
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Damien Caillaud
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Rasmus Havmoller
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
| | - Rafael Mares
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panamá
| | - Margaret Crofoot
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panamá
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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5
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Abstract
When vertebrates first conquered the land, they encountered a visual world that was radically distinct from that of their aquatic ancestors. Fish exploit the strong wavelength-dependent interactions of light with water by differentially feeding the signals from up to 5 spectral photoreceptor types into distinct behavioural programmes. However, above the water the same spectral rules do not apply, and this called for an update to visual circuit strategies. Early tetrapods soon evolved the double cone, a still poorly understood pair of new photoreceptors that brought the "ancestral terrestrial" complement from 5 to 7. Subsequent nonmammalian lineages differentially adapted this highly parallelised retinal input strategy for their diverse visual ecologies. By contrast, mammals shed most ancestral photoreceptors and converged on an input strategy that is exceptionally general. In eutherian mammals including in humans, parallelisation emerges gradually as the visual signal traverses the layers of the retina and into the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Baden
- University of Sussex, Sussex Neuroscience, Sussex Center for Sensory Neuroscience and Computation, Brighton, United Kingdom
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6
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Yoakum C, Terhune C. The inferior alveolar nerve and its relationship to the mandibular canal. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:97-117. [PMID: 37184240 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Previous work on the mandibular canal, mental foramen, and mandibular foramen has focused on humans and some other non-primate mammals (with small sample sizes), but little work has investigated the mandibular canal and inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) across primates. However, it is important to understand the relationship between the IAN and mandibular canal due to the IAN's close relationship to the teeth and mastication, and thus dietary adaptations. While it is assumed that most bony canals within the skull grow around and form to pre-existing nervous structures, this relationship has never been validated for the IAN and mandibular canal. MicroCT scans of 273 individuals (131 females, 134 males, and 8 unknown sex) from 68 primate species and three mammalian outgroups, and diceCT scans of 66 individuals (35 females, 23 males, and 8 unknown sex) from 33 primate species and the same mammalian outgroups were used to create 3D models of the IAN and mandibular canal from which cross-sectional areas were taken at various points on the structures. Using qualitative descriptions, phylogenetic generalized least squares analysis, and phylogenetic ANOVAs, we were able to establish three main conclusions: (1) the mandibular canal is most often not a defined canal within the mandible of primates, (2) when the canal can be identified, the IAN does not comprise most of the space within, and (3) there are significant relationships between the IAN and the corresponding canals, with most showing isometry and the mental foramen/nerve showing negative allometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Yoakum
- Department of Anatomy, Arkansas Colleges of Health Education, Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA
| | - Claire Terhune
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
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7
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Macionis V. Fetal head-down posture may explain the rapid brain evolution in humans and other primates: An interpretative review. Brain Res 2023; 1820:148558. [PMID: 37634686 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary cerebrovascular consequences of upside-down postural verticality of the anthropoid fetus have been largely overlooked in the literature. This working hypothesis-based report provides a literature interpretation from an aspect that the rapid evolution of the human brain has been promoted by fetal head-down position due to maternal upright and semi-upright posture. Habitual vertical torso posture is a feature not only of humans, but also of monkeys and non-human apes that spend considerable time in a sitting position. Consequently, the head-down position of the fetus may have caused physiological craniovascular hypertension that stimulated expansion of the intracranial vessels and acted as an epigenetic physiological stress, which enhanced neurogenesis and eventually, along with other selective pressures, led to the progressive growth of the anthropoid brain and its organization. This article collaterally opens a new insight into the conundrum of high cephalopelvic proportions (i.e., the tight fit between the pelvic birth canal and fetal head) in phylogenetically distant lineages of monkeys, lesser apes, and humans. Low cephalopelvic proportions in non-human great apes could be accounted for by their energetically efficient horizontal nest-sleeping and consequently by their larger body mass compared to monkeys and lesser apes that sleep upright. One can further hypothesize that brain size varies in anthropoids according to the degree of exposure of the fetus to postural verticality. The supporting evidence for this postulation includes a finding that in fossil hominins cerebral blood flow rate increased faster than brain volume. This testable hypothesis opens a perspective for research on fetal postural cerebral hemodynamics.
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8
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Heuer K, Traut N, de Sousa AA, Valk SL, Clavel J, Toro R. Diversity and evolution of cerebellar folding in mammals. eLife 2023; 12:e85907. [PMID: 37737580 PMCID: PMC10617990 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The process of brain folding is thought to play an important role in the development and organisation of the cerebrum and the cerebellum. The study of cerebellar folding is challenging due to the small size and abundance of its folia. In consequence, little is known about its anatomical diversity and evolution. We constituted an open collection of histological data from 56 mammalian species and manually segmented the cerebrum and the cerebellum. We developed methods to measure the geometry of cerebellar folia and to estimate the thickness of the molecular layer. We used phylogenetic comparative methods to study the diversity and evolution of cerebellar folding and its relationship with the anatomy of the cerebrum. Our results show that the evolution of cerebellar and cerebral anatomy follows a stabilising selection process. We observed two groups of phenotypes changing concertedly through evolution: a group of 'diverse' phenotypes - varying over several orders of magnitude together with body size, and a group of 'stable' phenotypes varying over less than 1 order of magnitude across species. Our analyses confirmed the strong correlation between cerebral and cerebellar volumes across species, and showed in addition that large cerebella are disproportionately more folded than smaller ones. Compared with the extreme variations in cerebellar surface area, folial anatomy and molecular layer thickness varied only slightly, showing a much smaller increase in the larger cerebella. We discuss how these findings could provide new insights into the diversity and evolution of cerebellar folding, the mechanisms of cerebellar and cerebral folding, and their potential influence on the organisation of the brain across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Heuer
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et ThéoriqueParisFrance
| | - Nicolas Traut
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et ThéoriqueParisFrance
| | | | - Sofie Louise Valk
- Otto Hahn Group Cognitive Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, FZ JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Julien Clavel
- Université Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNAVilleurbanneFrance
| | - Roberto Toro
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et ThéoriqueParisFrance
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9
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de Sousa AA, Beaudet A, Calvey T, Bardo A, Benoit J, Charvet CJ, Dehay C, Gómez-Robles A, Gunz P, Heuer K, van den Heuvel MP, Hurst S, Lauters P, Reed D, Salagnon M, Sherwood CC, Ströckens F, Tawane M, Todorov OS, Toro R, Wei Y. From fossils to mind. Commun Biol 2023; 6:636. [PMID: 37311857 PMCID: PMC10262152 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04803-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Fossil endocasts record features of brains from the past: size, shape, vasculature, and gyrification. These data, alongside experimental and comparative evidence, are needed to resolve questions about brain energetics, cognitive specializations, and developmental plasticity. Through the application of interdisciplinary techniques to the fossil record, paleoneurology has been leading major innovations. Neuroimaging is shedding light on fossil brain organization and behaviors. Inferences about the development and physiology of the brains of extinct species can be experimentally investigated through brain organoids and transgenic models based on ancient DNA. Phylogenetic comparative methods integrate data across species and associate genotypes to phenotypes, and brains to behaviors. Meanwhile, fossil and archeological discoveries continuously contribute new knowledge. Through cooperation, the scientific community can accelerate knowledge acquisition. Sharing digitized museum collections improves the availability of rare fossils and artifacts. Comparative neuroanatomical data are available through online databases, along with tools for their measurement and analysis. In the context of these advances, the paleoneurological record provides ample opportunity for future research. Biomedical and ecological sciences can benefit from paleoneurology's approach to understanding the mind as well as its novel research pipelines that establish connections between neuroanatomy, genes and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Évolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie (PALEVOPRIM), UMR 7262 CNRS & Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France.
- University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Tanya Calvey
- Division of Clinical Anatomy and Biological Anthropology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Ameline Bardo
- UMR 7194, CNRS-MNHN, Département Homme et Environnement, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, France
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Julien Benoit
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Christine J Charvet
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Colette Dehay
- University of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, F-69500, Bron, France
| | | | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katja Heuer
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, F-75015, Paris, France
| | | | - Shawn Hurst
- University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Pascaline Lauters
- Institut royal des Sciences naturelles, Direction Opérationnelle Terre et Histoire de la Vie, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Denné Reed
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Mathilde Salagnon
- CNRS, CEA, IMN, GIN, UMR 5293, Université Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
- PACEA UMR 5199, CNRS, Université Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Felix Ströckens
- C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Mirriam Tawane
- Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Orlin S Todorov
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Roberto Toro
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Yongbin Wei
- Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
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10
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Tucker MA, Schipper AM, Adams TSF, Attias N, Avgar T, Babic NL, Barker KJ, Bastille-Rousseau G, Behr DM, Belant JL, Beyer DE, Blaum N, Blount JD, Bockmühl D, Pires Boulhosa RL, Brown MB, Buuveibaatar B, Cagnacci F, Calabrese JM, Černe R, Chamaillé-Jammes S, Chan AN, Chase MJ, Chaval Y, Chenaux-Ibrahim Y, Cherry SG, Ćirović D, Çoban E, Cole EK, Conlee L, Courtemanch A, Cozzi G, Davidson SC, DeBloois D, Dejid N, DeNicola V, Desbiez ALJ, Douglas-Hamilton I, Drake D, Egan M, Eikelboom JAJ, Fagan WF, Farmer MJ, Fennessy J, Finnegan SP, Fleming CH, Fournier B, Fowler NL, Gantchoff MG, Garnier A, Gehr B, Geremia C, Goheen JR, Hauptfleisch ML, Hebblewhite M, Heim M, Hertel AG, Heurich M, Hewison AJM, Hodson J, Hoffman N, Hopcraft JGC, Huber D, Isaac EJ, Janik K, Ježek M, Johansson Ö, Jordan NR, Kaczensky P, Kamaru DN, Kauffman MJ, Kautz TM, Kays R, Kelly AP, Kindberg J, Krofel M, Kusak J, Lamb CT, LaSharr TN, Leimgruber P, Leitner H, Lierz M, Linnell JDC, Lkhagvaja P, Long RA, López-Bao JV, Loretto MC, Marchand P, Martin H, Martinez LA, McBride RT, McLaren AAD, Meisingset E, Melzheimer J, Merrill EH, Middleton AD, Monteith KL, Moore SA, Van Moorter B, Morellet N, Morrison T, Müller R, Mysterud A, Noonan MJ, O'Connor D, Olson D, Olson KA, Ortega AC, Ossi F, Panzacchi M, Patchett R, Patterson BR, de Paula RC, Payne J, Peters W, Petroelje TR, Pitcher BJ, Pokorny B, Poole K, Potočnik H, Poulin MP, Pringle RM, Prins HHT, Ranc N, Reljić S, Robb B, Röder R, Rolandsen CM, Rutz C, Salemgareyev AR, Samelius G, Sayine-Crawford H, Schooler S, Şekercioğlu ÇH, Selva N, Semenzato P, Sergiel A, Sharma K, Shawler AL, Signer J, Silovský V, Silva JP, Simon R, Smiley RA, Smith DW, Solberg EJ, Ellis-Soto D, Spiegel O, Stabach J, Stacy-Dawes J, Stahler DR, Stephenson J, Stewart C, Strand O, Sunde P, Svoboda NJ, Swart J, Thompson JJ, Toal KL, Uiseb K, VanAcker MC, Velilla M, Verzuh TL, Wachter B, Wagler BL, Whittington J, Wikelski M, Wilmers CC, Wittemyer G, Young JK, Zięba F, Zwijacz-Kozica T, Huijbregts MAJ, Mueller T. Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns. Science 2023; 380:1059-1064. [PMID: 37289888 DOI: 10.1126/science.abo6499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns 10-day 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. Animals' 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12% and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlee A Tucker
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500, GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Aafke M Schipper
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500, GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Nina Attias
- Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS), Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Tal Avgar
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322 USA
| | - Natarsha L Babic
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Kristin J Barker
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | | | - Dominik M Behr
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH - 8057 Zürich
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13, Maun, Botswana
| | - Jerrold L Belant
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Dean E Beyer
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Niels Blaum
- University of Potsdam, Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - J David Blount
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Dirk Bockmühl
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Michael B Brown
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Eros, PO Box 86099, Windhoek, Namibia
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | | | - Francesca Cagnacci
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Justin M Calabrese
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Goerlitz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, 4094 Campus Dr, College Park, MA, USA
| | - Rok Černe
- Slovenia Forest service, Večna pot 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Simon Chamaillé-Jammes
- CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Aung Nyein Chan
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
- Dept. Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA
| | | | - Yannick Chaval
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Yvette Chenaux-Ibrahim
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN 55605 USA
| | - Seth G Cherry
- Parks Canada Agency, Box 220, Radium Hot Springs, BC, V0A 1M0, Canada
| | - Duško Ćirović
- Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Emrah Çoban
- KuzeyDoğa Society, Ortakapı Mah. Şehit Yusuf Cad. 69, 36100 Kars, Turkey
| | - Eric K Cole
- U.S. Fish and Wildlfe Service, National Elk Refuge, PO Box 510, Jackson, WY 83001
| | - Laura Conlee
- Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA
| | | | - Gabriele Cozzi
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH - 8057 Zürich
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13, Maun, Botswana
| | - Sarah C Davidson
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, 43210 Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Nandintsetseg Dejid
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | | | - Arnaud L J Desbiez
- Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS), Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Murrayfield, Edinburgh, UK
- Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ), Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Iain Douglas-Hamilton
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
- Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - David Drake
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706 USA
| | - Michael Egan
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Jasper A J Eikelboom
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - William F Fagan
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, 4094 Campus Dr, College Park, MA, USA
| | - Morgan J Farmer
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Julian Fennessy
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Eros, PO Box 86099, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Shannon P Finnegan
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Christen H Fleming
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, 4094 Campus Dr, College Park, MA, USA
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Bonnie Fournier
- Wildlife and Fish Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT, Canada
| | - Nicholas L Fowler
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite B, Soldotna, AK 99669, USA
| | - Mariela G Gantchoff
- State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
- Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469 USA
| | - Alexandre Garnier
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- Parc National des Pyrénées, 65000 Tarbes, France
| | - Benedikt Gehr
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Chris Geremia
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
| | - Jacob R Goheen
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 USA
| | - Morgan L Hauptfleisch
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Namibia University of Science and Technnology Pvt bag 13388 Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59801
| | - Morten Heim
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Anne G Hertel
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Marco Heurich
- Department of Visitor Management and National Park Monitoring, Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Straße 2, 94481 Grafenau, Germany
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute for forest and wildlife management, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Campus Evenstad, Inland Norway University of Applied Science, NO-2480 Koppang, Norway
| | - A J Mark Hewison
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - James Hodson
- Wildlife and Fish Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT Canada X1A 2L9
| | - Nicholas Hoffman
- Ecological Program, Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center, Annville, PA 17003, USA
| | - J Grant C Hopcraft
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow UK G12 8QQ
| | - Djuro Huber
- Veterinary Biology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Edmund J Isaac
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN 55605 USA
| | - Karolina Janik
- City of New York Parks and Recreation, Wildlife Unit, 1234 5th Avenue, 5th Floor, NY 10029
| | - Miloš Ježek
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Örjan Johansson
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 739 93, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
- Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
| | - Neil R Jordan
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13, Maun, Botswana
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society, Sydney, NSW, 2088, Australia
| | - Petra Kaczensky
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Norway
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Austria
| | - Douglas N Kamaru
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 USA
- Wildlife Department, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Private Bag-10400, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Matthew J Kauffman
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Todd M Kautz
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Roland Kays
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, 27601, USA
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Allicia P Kelly
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 2668, Yellowknife, NT Canada X1A 2P9
| | - Jonas Kindberg
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, NO-7484 Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE- 901 83 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Miha Krofel
- Department of Forestry, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred- Kowalke- Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Josip Kusak
- Veterinary Biology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Clayton T Lamb
- Biological Sciences Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Tayler N LaSharr
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Peter Leimgruber
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Horst Leitner
- Büro für Wildökologie und Forstwirtschaft, Klagenfurth, Austria
| | - Michael Lierz
- Clinic for birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
| | - John D C Linnell
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Anne Evenstads vei 80, 2480 Koppang, Norway
| | | | - Ryan A Long
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844 USA
| | - José Vicente López-Bao
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC - Oviedo University - Principality of Asturias), Oviedo University, E-33600 Mieres, Spain
| | - Matthias-Claudio Loretto
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, 85354 Freising, Germany
- Berchtesgaden National Park, 83471 Berchtesgaden, Germany
| | - Pascal Marchand
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Direction de la Recherche et de l'Expertise, Unité Ongulés Sauvages, Juvignac, France
| | - Hans Martin
- Wildlife Biology Program, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59801
| | - Lindsay A Martinez
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Roy T McBride
- Faro Moro Eco Research, Estancia Faro Moro, Departmento de Boquerón, Paraguay
| | - Ashley A D McLaren
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 7B8, Canada
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Highway 5, PO Box 900, Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, X0E 0P0, Canada
| | - Erling Meisingset
- Department of Forestry and Forestry resources, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Tingvoll gard, NO-6630 Tingvoll, Norway
| | - Joerg Melzheimer
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Evelyn H Merrill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Arthur D Middleton
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Kevin L Monteith
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Seth A Moore
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN 55605 USA
| | - Bram Van Moorter
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Nicolas Morellet
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Thomas Morrison
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow UK G12 8QQ
| | - Rebekka Müller
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Michael J Noonan
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - David O'Connor
- Save Giraffe Now, 8333 Douglas Avenue, Suite 300, Dallas, Texas 75225
- The Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- National Geographic Partners, 1145 17th Street NW, Washington DC 20036, USA
| | | | - Kirk A Olson
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Mongolia Program. Post 20A, Box 21, Ulaanbaatar 14200, Mongolia
| | - Anna C Ortega
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
- Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 USA
| | - Federico Ossi
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Manuela Panzacchi
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Robert Patchett
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Brent R Patterson
- Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada
| | - Rogerio Cunha de Paula
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, SP, 12952011 Brazil
| | - John Payne
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Wibke Peters
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Wildlife Management, Bavarian State Institute for Forestry, Hans-Carl-von Carlowitz Platz 1, 85354 Freising
| | - Tyler R Petroelje
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Benjamin J Pitcher
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society, Sydney, NSW, 2088, Australia
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Boštjan Pokorny
- Faculty of Environmental Protection, Trg mladosti 7, 3320 Velenje, Slovenia
- Slovenian Forestry Institute, Večna pot 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Biodiversity, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
| | - Kim Poole
- Aurora Wildlife Research, 1918 Shannon Point Rd., Nelson, BC, V1L 6K1 Canada
| | - Hubert Potočnik
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marie-Pier Poulin
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071 USA
| | - Robert M Pringle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 USA
| | - Herbert H T Prins
- Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, De Elst 1, 6708 WD, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Nathan Ranc
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA 02138, USA
| | - Slaven Reljić
- Veterinary Biology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Oikon Ltd, Institute of Applied Ecology, Trg Senjskih uskoka 1-2, HR-10020 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Benjamin Robb
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Ralf Röder
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Christer M Rolandsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Albert R Salemgareyev
- Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
| | - Gustaf Samelius
- Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
- Nordens Ark, 456 93 Hunnebostrand, Sweden
| | - Heather Sayine-Crawford
- Wildlife and Fish Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT Canada X1A 2L9
| | - Sarah Schooler
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Çağan H Şekercioğlu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- KuzeyDoğa Society, Ortakapı Mah. Şehit Yusuf Cad. 69, 36100 Kars, Turkey
- Koç University Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Sciences, Rumelifeneri, Istanbul, Sarıyer, Turkey
| | - Nuria Selva
- Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences, Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
- Departamento de Ciencias Integradas, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Física, Matemáticas y Computación, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
| | - Paola Semenzato
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
- Dimension Research, Ecology and Environment (D.R.E.Am. Italia), Via Garibaldi, 3, 52015 Pratovecchio Stia (AR), Italy
| | - Agnieszka Sergiel
- Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences, Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
| | - Koustubh Sharma
- Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
- Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- Snow Leopard Foundation, Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore 570002, India
| | - Avery L Shawler
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Johannes Signer
- Wildlife Sciences, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Goettingen, Göttingen Germany
| | - Václav Silovský
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - João Paulo Silva
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Richard Simon
- City of New York Parks and Recreation, Wildlife Unit, 1234 5th Avenue, 5th Floor, NY, NY, 10029
| | - Rachel A Smiley
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Douglas W Smith
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
| | - Erling J Solberg
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Diego Ellis-Soto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT
- Max Planck - Yale Center for Biodiversity Movement and Global Change, Yale University
| | - Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Jared Stabach
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Jenna Stacy-Dawes
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, 92027 USA
| | - Daniel R Stahler
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
| | - John Stephenson
- Grand Teton National Park, PO Drawer 170, Moose, Wyoming 83012 USA
| | - Cheyenne Stewart
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 700 Valley View Dr. Sheridan, WY 82801
| | - Olav Strand
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Peter Sunde
- Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience - Wildlife Ecology, C.F. Møllers Allé 4-8, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Jonathan Swart
- Welgevonden Game Reserve, P.O. Box 433, Vaalwater, South Africa
| | - Jeffrey J Thompson
- Guyra Paraguay - CONACYT, Asunción, Paraguay
- Instituto Saite, Asunción, Paraguay
| | - Katrina L Toal
- City of New York Parks and Recreation, Wildlife Unit, 1234 5th Avenue, 5th Floor, NY, NY, 10029
| | - Kenneth Uiseb
- Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Meredith C VanAcker
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
- Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, NY, NY 10027
| | - Marianela Velilla
- Guyra Paraguay - CONACYT, Asunción, Paraguay
- Instituto Saite, Asunción, Paraguay
- School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell St, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - Tana L Verzuh
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Bettina Wachter
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Brittany L Wagler
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Jesse Whittington
- Park Canada, Banff National Park Resource Conservation. PO Box 900, Banff, Alberta, Canada. T1L 1K2
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Christopher C Wilmers
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz CA, 95064 USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Julie K Young
- USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Predator Research Facility, Millville, UT 84326 USA
- Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322 USA
| | - Filip Zięba
- Tatra National Park, Kuźnice 1, 34-500, Zakopane, Poland
| | | | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500, GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Mueller
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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11
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Kaplow IM, Lawler AJ, Schäffer DE, Srinivasan C, Sestili HH, Wirthlin ME, Phan BN, Prasad K, Brown AR, Zhang X, Foley K, Genereux DP, Karlsson EK, Lindblad-Toh K, Meyer WK, Pfenning AR, Andrews G, Armstrong JC, Bianchi M, Birren BW, Bredemeyer KR, Breit AM, Christmas MJ, Clawson H, Damas J, Di Palma F, Diekhans M, Dong MX, Eizirik E, Fan K, Fanter C, Foley NM, Forsberg-Nilsson K, Garcia CJ, Gatesy J, Gazal S, Genereux DP, Goodman L, Grimshaw J, Halsey MK, Harris AJ, Hickey G, Hiller M, Hindle AG, Hubley RM, Hughes GM, Johnson J, Juan D, Kaplow IM, Karlsson EK, Keough KC, Kirilenko B, Koepfli KP, Korstian JM, Kowalczyk A, Kozyrev SV, Lawler AJ, Lawless C, Lehmann T, Levesque DL, Lewin HA, Li X, Lind A, Lindblad-Toh K, Mackay-Smith A, Marinescu VD, Marques-Bonet T, Mason VC, Meadows JRS, Meyer WK, Moore JE, Moreira LR, Moreno-Santillan DD, Morrill KM, Muntané G, Murphy WJ, Navarro A, Nweeia M, Ortmann S, Osmanski A, Paten B, Paulat NS, Pfenning AR, Phan BN, Pollard KS, Pratt HE, Ray DA, Reilly SK, Rosen JR, Ruf I, Ryan L, Ryder OA, Sabeti PC, Schäffer DE, Serres A, Shapiro B, Smit AFA, Springer M, Srinivasan C, Steiner C, Storer JM, Sullivan KAM, Sullivan PF, Sundström E, Supple MA, Swofford R, Talbot JE, Teeling E, Turner-Maier J, Valenzuela A, Wagner F, Wallerman O, Wang C, Wang J, Weng Z, Wilder AP, Wirthlin ME, Xue JR, Zhang X. Relating enhancer genetic variation across mammals to complex phenotypes using machine learning. Science 2023; 380:eabm7993. [PMID: 37104615 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm7993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Protein-coding differences between species often fail to explain phenotypic diversity, suggesting the involvement of genomic elements that regulate gene expression such as enhancers. Identifying associations between enhancers and phenotypes is challenging because enhancer activity can be tissue-dependent and functionally conserved despite low sequence conservation. We developed the Tissue-Aware Conservation Inference Toolkit (TACIT) to associate candidate enhancers with species' phenotypes using predictions from machine learning models trained on specific tissues. Applying TACIT to associate motor cortex and parvalbumin-positive interneuron enhancers with neurological phenotypes revealed dozens of enhancer-phenotype associations, including brain size-associated enhancers that interact with genes implicated in microcephaly or macrocephaly. TACIT provides a foundation for identifying enhancers associated with the evolution of any convergently evolved phenotype in any large group of species with aligned genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene M Kaplow
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Alyssa J Lawler
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Daniel E Schäffer
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Chaitanya Srinivasan
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Heather H Sestili
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Morgan E Wirthlin
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - BaDoi N Phan
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kavya Prasad
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Ashley R Brown
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Xiaomeng Zhang
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Kathleen Foley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | - Diane P Genereux
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Elinor K Karlsson
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Kerstin Lindblad-Toh
- Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Wynn K Meyer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA
| | - Andreas R Pfenning
- Department of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Biology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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12
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Rigby Dames BA, Kilili H, Charvet CJ, Díaz-Barba K, Proulx MJ, de Sousa AA, Urrutia AO. Evolutionary and genomic perspectives of brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2023; 275:165-215. [PMID: 36841568 PMCID: PMC11191546 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
This chapter utilizes genomic concepts and evolutionary perspectives to further understand the possible links between typical brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on the two most prevalent of these: Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Aging is the major risk factor for these neurodegenerative diseases. Researching the evolutionary and molecular underpinnings of aging helps to reveal elements of the typical aging process that leave individuals more vulnerable to neurodegenerative pathologies. Very little is known about the prevalence and susceptibility of neurodegenerative diseases in nonhuman species, as only a few individuals have been observed with these neuropathologies. However, several studies have investigated the evolution of lifespan, which is closely connected with brain size in mammals, and insights can be drawn from these to enrich our understanding of neurodegeneration. This chapter explores the relationship between the typical aging process and the events in neurodegeneration. First, we examined how age-related processes can increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases. Second, we assessed to what extent neurodegeneration is an accelerated form of aging. We found that while at the phenotypic level both neurodegenerative diseases and the typical aging process share some characteristics, at the molecular level they show some distinctions in their profiles, such as variation in genes and gene expression. Furthermore, neurodegeneration of the brain is associated with an earlier onset of cellular, molecular, and structural age-related changes. In conclusion, a more integrative view of the aging process, both from a molecular and an evolutionary perspective, may increase our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brier A Rigby Dames
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
| | - Huseyin Kilili
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Christine J Charvet
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
| | - Karina Díaz-Barba
- Licenciatura en Ciencias Genómicas, UNAM, CP62210, Cuernavaca, México; Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, CP04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | | | - Araxi O Urrutia
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Licenciatura en Ciencias Genómicas, UNAM, CP62210, Cuernavaca, México; Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, CP04510, Ciudad de México, México.
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13
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Clauss M, Heck L, Veitschegger K, Geiger M. Teeth out of proportion: Smaller horse and cattle breeds have comparatively larger teeth. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2022; 338:561-574. [PMID: 35286773 PMCID: PMC9790632 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
There are different descriptions of allometric relationships between important components of the mammalian skull. Craniofacial evolutionary allometry describes a pattern of increasing facial cranium in larger skulls. Another body of literature describes disproportionately larger teeth in smaller species or specimens, matching anecdotal observations with dental problems in dwarf breeds whose teeth appear "too large for their skulls." We test the scaling of tooth row length with body size and skull length in a data set comprising 114 domestic horses (representing 40 breeds) and in another data set of 316 domestic cattle (of >60 breeds). We demonstrate that smaller skulls have a relatively longer tooth row in both horses and cattle; larger specimens have relatively shorter tooth rows. Whereas in horses, larger skulls have a relatively longer diastema, the distance of the mesial maxillary premolar to the premaxilla was proportional to cranium length in cattle. While the reasons for these patterns remain to be detected, they support the hypothesis that tooth size might be less "evolvable," in terms of time required for changes, than body size. The pattern may affect (i) the selective breeding for dwarf breeds by setting minimum constraints for skull size, as described previously for domestic horses with the same data set; (ii) the susceptibility of small breeds for dental problems; and (iii) differences in chewing efficiency between breeds of different sizes. The findings support the existing concept that scaling of tooth to body size across taxa becomes more isometric the longer these taxa are separated in evolutionary time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse FacultyUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | - Laura Heck
- Palaeontological Institute and MuseumUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
| | | | - Madeleine Geiger
- Palaeontological Institute and MuseumUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland,SWILD, Urban Ecology & Wildlife ResearchZurichSwitzerland,Naturmuseum St. GallenRorschacher Strasse 2639016St.GallenSwitzerland
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14
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Shultz S, Dunbar RIM. Socioecological complexity in primate groups and its cognitive correlates. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210296. [PMID: 35934968 PMCID: PMC9358314 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Characterizing non-human primate social complexity and its cognitive bases has proved challenging. Using principal component analyses, we show that primate social, ecological and reproductive behaviours condense into two components: socioecological complexity (including most social and ecological variables) and reproductive cooperation (comprising mainly a suite of behaviours associated with pairbonded monogamy). We contextualize these results using a meta-analysis of 44 published analyses of primate brain evolution. These studies yield two main consistent results: cognition, sociality and cooperative behaviours are associated with absolute brain volume, neocortex size and neocortex ratio, whereas diet composition and life history are consistently associated with relative brain size. We use a path analysis to evaluate the causal relationships among these variables, demonstrating that social group size is predicted by the neocortex, whereas ecological traits are predicted by the volume of brain structures other than the neocortex. That a range of social and technical behaviours covary, and are correlated with social group size and brain size, suggests that primate cognition has evolved along a continuum resulting in an increasingly flexible, domain-general capacity to solve a range of socioecological challenges culminating in a capacity for, and reliance on, innovation and social information use in the great apes and humans. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Shultz
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Robin I M Dunbar
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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15
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Smeele SQ. Using relative brain size as predictor variable: Serious pitfalls and solutions. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9273. [PMID: 36188504 PMCID: PMC9489487 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a long‐standing interest in the effect of relative brain size on other life history variables in a comparative context. Historically, residuals have been used to calculate these effects, but more recently it has been recognized that regression on residuals is not good practice. Instead, absolute brain size and body size are included in a multiple regression, with the idea that this controls for allometry. I use a simple simulation to illustrate how a case in which brain size is a response variable differs from a case in which relative brain size is a predictor variable. I use the simulated data to test which modeling approach can estimate the underlying causal effects for each case. The results show that a multiple regression model with both body size and another variable as predictor variable and brain size as response variable work well. However, if relative brain size is a predictor variable, a multiple regression fails to correctly estimate the effect of body size. I propose the use of structural equation models to simultaneously estimate relative brain size and its effect on the third variable and discuss other potential methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simeon Q. Smeele
- Cognitive & Cultural Ecology Research Group Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Radolfzell Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Constance Germany
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16
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Lynch LM, Allen KL. Relative Brain Volume of Carnivorans Has Evolved in Correlation with Environmental and Dietary Variables Differentially among Clades. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2022; 97:284-297. [PMID: 35235933 DOI: 10.1159/000523787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Carnivorans possess relatively large brains compared to most other mammalian clades. Factors like environmental complexity (Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis) and diet quality (Expensive-Tissue Hypothesis) have been proposed as mechanisms for encephalization in other large-brained clades. We examine whether the Cognitive Buffer and Expensive-Tissue Hypotheses account for brain size variation within Carnivora. Under these hypotheses, we predict a positive correlation between brain size and environmental complexity or protein consumption. Relative endocranial volume (phylogenetic generalized least-squares residual from species' mean body mass) and 9 environmental and dietary variables were collected from the literature for 148 species of terrestrial and marine carnivorans. We found that the correlation between relative brain volume and environment and diet differed among clades, a trend consistent with other larger brained vertebrates (i.e., Primates, Aves). Mustelidae and Procyonidae demonstrate larger brains in species with higher-quality diets, consistent with the Expensive-Tissue Hypothesis, while in Herpestidae, correlations between relative brain size and environment are consistent with the Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis. Our results indicate that carnivorans may have evolved relatively larger brains under similar selective pressures as primates despite the considerable differences in life history and behavior between these two clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leigha M Lynch
- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.,Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Kari L Allen
- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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17
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Harrison JF, Biewener A, Bernhardt JR, Burger JR, Brown JH, Coto ZN, Duell ME, Lynch M, Moffett ER, Norin T, Pettersen AK, Smith FA, Somjee U, Traniello JFA, Williams TM. White Paper: An Integrated Perspective on the Causes of Hypometric Metabolic Scaling in Animals. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:icac136. [PMID: 35933126 PMCID: PMC9724154 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Larger animals studied during ontogeny, across populations, or across species, usually have lower mass-specific metabolic rates than smaller animals (hypometric scaling). This pattern is usually observed regardless of physiological state (e.g. basal, resting, field, maximally-active). The scaling of metabolism is usually highly correlated with the scaling of many life history traits, behaviors, physiological variables, and cellular/molecular properties, making determination of the causation of this pattern challenging. For across-species comparisons of resting and locomoting animals (but less so for across populations or during ontogeny), the mechanisms at the physiological and cellular level are becoming clear. Lower mass-specific metabolic rates of larger species at rest are due to a) lower contents of expensive tissues (brains, liver, kidneys), and b) slower ion leak across membranes at least partially due to membrane composition, with lower ion pump ATPase activities. Lower mass-specific costs of larger species during locomotion are due to lower costs for lower-frequency muscle activity, with slower myosin and Ca++ ATPase activities, and likely more elastic energy storage. The evolutionary explanation(s) for hypometric scaling remain(s) highly controversial. One subset of evolutionary hypotheses relies on constraints on larger animals due to changes in geometry with size; for example, lower surface-to-volume ratios of exchange surfaces may constrain nutrient or heat exchange, or lower cross-sectional areas of muscles and tendons relative to body mass ratios would make larger animals more fragile without compensation. Another subset of hypotheses suggests that hypometric scaling arises from biotic interactions and correlated selection, with larger animals experiencing less selection for mass-specific growth or neurolocomotor performance. A additional third type of explanation comes from population genetics. Larger animals with their lower effective population sizes and subsequent less effective selection relative to drift may have more deleterious mutations, reducing maximal performance and metabolic rates. Resolving the evolutionary explanation for the hypometric scaling of metabolism and associated variables is a major challenge for organismal and evolutionary biology. To aid progress, we identify some variation in terminology use that has impeded cross-field conversations on scaling. We also suggest that promising directions for the field to move forward include: 1) studies examining the linkages between ontogenetic, population-level, and cross-species allometries, 2) studies linking scaling to ecological or phylogenetic context, 3) studies that consider multiple, possibly interacting hypotheses, and 4) obtaining better field data for metabolic rates and the life history correlates of metabolic rate such as lifespan, growth rate and reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon F Harrison
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
| | - Andrew Biewener
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Joanna R Bernhardt
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Joseph R Burger
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
| | - James H Brown
- Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Zach N Coto
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Meghan E Duell
- Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Michael Lynch
- Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Emma R Moffett
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Tommy Norin
- DTU Aqua | National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Anker Engelunds Vej 1 Bygning 101A, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Amanda K Pettersen
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Felisa A Smith
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Ummat Somjee
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
| | | | - Terrie M Williams
- Division of Physical and Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
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18
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Garin CM, Garin M, Silenzi L, Jaffe R, Constantinidis C. Multilevel atlas comparisons reveal divergent evolution of the primate brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2202491119. [PMID: 35700361 PMCID: PMC9231627 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202491119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Whether the size of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in humans is disproportionate when compared to other species is a persistent debate in evolutionary neuroscience. This question has left the study of over/under-expansion in other structures relatively unexplored. We therefore sought to address this gap by adapting anatomical areas from the digital atlases of 18 mammalian species, to create a common interspecies classification. Our approach used data-driven analysis based on phylogenetic generalized least squares to evaluate anatomical expansion covering the whole brain. Our main finding suggests a divergence in primate evolution, orienting the stereotypical mammalian cerebral proportion toward a frontal and parietal lobe expansion in catarrhini (primate parvorder comprising old world monkeys, apes, and humans). Cerebral lobe volumes slopes plotted for catarrhini species were ranked as parietal∼frontal > temporal > occipital, contrasting with the ranking of other mammalian species (occipital > temporal > frontal∼parietal). Frontal and parietal slopes were statistically different in catarrhini when compared to other species through bootstrap analysis. Within the catarrhini's frontal lobe, the prefrontal cortex was the principal driver of frontal expansion. Across all species, expansion of the frontal lobe appeared to be systematically linked to the parietal lobe. Our findings suggest that the human frontal and parietal lobes are not disproportionately enlarged when compared to other catarrhini. Nevertheless, humans remain unique in carrying the most relatively enlarged frontal and parietal lobes in an infraorder exhibiting a disproportionate expansion of these areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clément M. Garin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
| | - Marie Garin
- Département de Mathématiques, Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Centre Borelli, Gif-sur-Yvette, F-91190 France
| | - Leonardo Silenzi
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC 27157
| | - Rye Jaffe
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC 27157
| | - Christos Constantinidis
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
- Program in Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232
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19
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López-Aguirre C, Lang MM, Silcox MT. Diet drove brain and dental morphological coevolution in strepsirrhine primates. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269041. [PMID: 35666739 PMCID: PMC9170099 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of the remarkably complex primate brain has been a topic of great interest for decades. Multiple factors have been proposed to explain the comparatively larger primate brain (relative to body mass), with recent studies indicating diet has the greatest explanatory power. Dietary specialisations also correlate with dental adaptations, providing a potential evolutionary link between brain and dental morphological evolution. However, unambiguous evidence of association between brain and dental phenotypes in primates remains elusive. Here we investigate the effect of diet on variation in primate brain and dental morphology and test whether the two anatomical systems coevolved. We focused on the primate suborder Strepsirrhini, a living primate group that occupies a very wide range of dietary niches. By making use of both geometric morphometrics and dental topographic analysis, we extend the study of brain-dental ecomorphological evolution beyond measures of size. After controlling for allometry and evolutionary relatedness, differences in brain and dental morphology were found between dietary groups, and brain and dental morphologies were found to covary. Historical trajectories of morphological diversification revealed a strong integration in the rates of brain and dental evolution and similarities in their modes of evolution. Combined, our results reveal an interplay between brain and dental ecomorphological adaptations throughout strepsirrhine evolution that can be linked to diet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilo López-Aguirre
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Madlen M. Lang
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mary T. Silcox
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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20
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Fischer S, Jungwirth A. The costs and benefits of larger brains in fishes. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:973-985. [PMID: 35612352 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The astonishing diversity of brain sizes observed across the animal kingdom is typically explained in the context of trade-offs: the benefits of a larger brain, such as enhanced cognitive ability, are balanced against potential costs, such as increased energetic demands. Several hypotheses have been formulated in this framework, placing different emphasis on ecological, behavioural, or physiological aspects of trade-offs in brain size evolution. Within this body of work, there exists considerable taxonomic bias towards studies of birds and mammals, leaving some uncertainty about the generality of the respective arguments. Here, we test three of the most prominent such hypotheses, the 'expensive tissue', 'social brain' and 'cognitive buffer' hypotheses, in a large dataset of fishes, derived from a publicly available resource (FishBase). In accordance with predictions from the 'expensive tissue' and the 'social brain' hypothesis, larger brains co-occur with reduced fecundity and increased sociality in at least some Classes of fish. Contrary to expectations, however, lifespan is reduced in large-brained fishes, and there is a tendency for species that perform parental care to have smaller brains. As such, it appears that some potential costs (reduced fecundity) and benefits (increased sociality) of large brains are near universal to vertebrates, whereas others have more lineage-specific effects. We discuss our findings in the context of fundamental differences between the classically studied birds and mammals and the fishes we analyse here, namely divergent patterns of growth, parenting and neurogenesis. As such, our work highlights the need for a taxonomically diverse approach to any fundamental question in evolutionary biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Fischer
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Arne Jungwirth
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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21
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Zhang Y, Yu F, Yi X, Zhou W, Liu R, Holyoak M, Cao L, Zhang M, Chen J, Zhang Z, Yan C. Evolutionary and ecological patterns of scatter- and larder-hoarding behaviours in rodents. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1202-1214. [PMID: 35230727 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Scatter- and larder hoarding are the primary strategies of food-hoarding animals and have important implications for plant-animal interactions and plant recruitment. However, their origins and influencing factors have not been fully investigated across a wide range of taxa. Our systematic literature search amassed data for 183 seed-hoarding rodent species worldwide and tested relationships of seed-hoarding behaviours with phylogenetic signal, functional traits and environmental factors. We found that the evolution of hoarding strategies was not random in phylogeny, and scatter hoarding originated independently multiple times from larder hoarding. Rodents with higher encephalisation quotient (relative brain size), omnivorous diet (related to dependence on seeds) and inhabiting lower latitudes were disproportionately likely to scatter hoard. Despite body mass's potential relationship with competition through food defence, it was associated with food-hoarding strategy only in a few families. Our results show the need to study the community and ecological context of food-hoarding behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Fei Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Xianfeng Yi
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
| | - Weiwei Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Rui Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Marcel Holyoak
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Lin Cao
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Jiani Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhibin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chuan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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22
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Bertrand OC, Shelley SL, Williamson TE, Wible JR, Chester SGB, Flynn JJ, Holbrook LT, Lyson TR, Meng J, Miller IM, Püschel HP, Smith T, Spaulding M, Tseng ZJ, Brusatte SL. Brawn before brains in placental mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction. Science 2022; 376:80-85. [PMID: 35357913 DOI: 10.1126/science.abl5584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Mammals are the most encephalized vertebrates, with the largest brains relative to body size. Placental mammals have particularly enlarged brains, with expanded neocortices for sensory integration, the origins of which are unclear. We used computed tomography scans of newly discovered Paleocene fossils to show that contrary to the convention that mammal brains have steadily enlarged over time, early placentals initially decreased their relative brain sizes because body mass increased at a faster rate. Later in the Eocene, multiple crown lineages independently acquired highly encephalized brains through marked growth in sensory regions. We argue that the placental radiation initially emphasized increases in body size as extinction survivors filled vacant niches. Brains eventually became larger as ecosystems saturated and competition intensified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ornella C Bertrand
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 3FE, UK
| | - Sarah L Shelley
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 3FE, UK.,Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - John R Wible
- Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Stephen G B Chester
- Department of Anthropology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, USA.,Department of Anthropology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - John J Flynn
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior subprogram, PhD Program in Biology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.,PhD Program in Earth and Environmental Sciences, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Luke T Holbrook
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
| | | | - Jin Meng
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ian M Miller
- Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, USA.,National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Hans P Püschel
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 3FE, UK
| | - Thierry Smith
- Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Michelle Spaulding
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University Northwest, Westville, IN, USA
| | - Z Jack Tseng
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Stephen L Brusatte
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 3FE, UK.,New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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23
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Smith FA. The road to a larger brain. Science 2022; 376:27-28. [PMID: 35357943 DOI: 10.1126/science.abo1985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Ecological opportunities in the early Cenozoic favored larger, not smarter, mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felisa A Smith
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA
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24
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Abstract
The brain harbors a unique ability to, figuratively speaking, shift its gears. During wakefulness, the brain is geared fully toward processing information and behaving, while homeostatic functions predominate during sleep. The blood-brain barrier establishes a stable environment that is optimal for neuronal function, yet the barrier imposes a physiological problem; transcapillary filtration that forms extracellular fluid in other organs is reduced to a minimum in brain. Consequently, the brain depends on a special fluid [the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)] that is flushed into brain along the unique perivascular spaces created by astrocytic vascular endfeet. We describe this pathway, coined the term glymphatic system, based on its dependency on astrocytic vascular endfeet and their adluminal expression of aquaporin-4 water channels facing toward CSF-filled perivascular spaces. Glymphatic clearance of potentially harmful metabolic or protein waste products, such as amyloid-β, is primarily active during sleep, when its physiological drivers, the cardiac cycle, respiration, and slow vasomotion, together efficiently propel CSF inflow along periarterial spaces. The brain's extracellular space contains an abundance of proteoglycans and hyaluronan, which provide a low-resistance hydraulic conduit that rapidly can expand and shrink during the sleep-wake cycle. We describe this unique fluid system of the brain, which meets the brain's requisites to maintain homeostasis similar to peripheral organs, considering the blood-brain-barrier and the paths for formation and egress of the CSF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Kaag Rasmussen
- Center for Translational Neuromedicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Humberto Mestre
- Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
| | - Maiken Nedergaard
- Center for Translational Neuromedicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
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25
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Abstract
The evolution of brain processing capacity has traditionally been inferred from data on brain size. However, similarly sized brains of distantly related species can differ in the number and distribution of neurons, their basic computational units. Therefore, a finer-grained approach is needed to reveal the evolutionary paths to increased cognitive capacity. Using a new, comprehensive dataset, we analyzed brain cellular composition across amniotes. Compared to reptiles, mammals and birds have dramatically increased neuron numbers in the telencephalon and cerebellum, which are brain parts associated with higher cognition. Astoundingly, a phylogenetic analysis suggests that as few as four major changes in neuron–brain scaling in over 300 million years of evolution pave the way to intelligence in endothermic land vertebrates. Reconstructing the evolution of brain information-processing capacity is paramount for understanding the rise of complex cognition. Comparative studies of brain evolution typically use brain size as a proxy. However, to get a less biased picture of the evolutionary paths leading to high cognitive power, we need to compare brains not by mass but by numbers of neurons, which are their basic computational units. This study reconstructs the evolution of brains across amniotes by directly analyzing neuron numbers by using the largest dataset of its kind and including essential data on reptiles. We show that reptiles have not only small brains relative to body size but also low neuronal densities, resulting in average neuron numbers over 20 times lower than those in birds and mammals of similar body size. Amniote brain evolution is characterized by the following four major shifts in neuron–brain scaling. The most dramatic increases in brain neurons occurred independently with the appearance of birds and mammals, resulting in convergent neuron scaling in the two endotherm lineages. The other two major increases in the number of neurons happened in core land birds and anthropoid primates, which are two groups known for their cognitive prowess. Interestingly, relative brain size is associated with relative neuronal cell density in reptiles, birds, and primates but not in other mammals. This has important implications for studies using relative brain size as a proxy when looking for evolutionary drivers of animal cognition.
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26
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Engelman RK. Occipital condyle width (OCW) is a highly accurate predictor of body mass in therian mammals. BMC Biol 2022; 20:37. [PMID: 35130893 PMCID: PMC8883515 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01224-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Body mass estimation is of paramount importance for paleobiological studies, as body size influences numerous other biological parameters. In mammals, body mass has been traditionally estimated using regression equations based on measurements of the dentition or limb bones, but for many species teeth are unreliable estimators of body mass and postcranial elements are unknown. This issue is exemplified in several groups of extinct mammals that have disproportionately large heads relative to their body size and for which postcranial remains are rare. In these taxa, previous authors have noted that the occiput is unusually small relative to the skull, suggesting that occiput dimensions may be a more accurate predictor of body mass. RESULTS The relationship between occipital condyle width (OCW) and body mass was tested using a large dataset (2127 specimens and 404 species) of mammals with associated in vivo body mass. OCW was found to be a strong predictor of body mass across therian mammals, with regression models of Mammalia as a whole producing error values (~ 31.1% error) comparable to within-order regression equations of other skeletal variables in previous studies. Some clades (e.g., monotremes, lagomorphs) exhibited specialized occiput morphology but followed the same allometric relationship as the majority of mammals. Compared to two traditional metrics of body mass estimation, skull length, and head-body length, OCW outperformed both in terms of model accuracy. CONCLUSIONS OCW-based regression models provide an alternative method of estimating body mass to traditional craniodental and postcranial metrics and are highly accurate despite the broad taxonomic scope of the dataset. Because OCW accurately predicts body mass in most therian mammals, it can be used to estimate body mass in taxa with no close living analogues without concerns of insufficient phylogenetic bracketing or extrapolating beyond the bounds of the data. This, in turn, provides a robust method for estimating body mass in groups for which body mass estimation has previously been problematic (e.g., "creodonts" and other extinct Paleogene mammals).
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell K Engelman
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
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27
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Labaronnie A, Cassini MH. Determinants of introduction success in alien mammals. MAMMAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-021-00599-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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28
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Cranial Anatomical Integration and Disparity Among Bones Discriminate Between Primates and Non-primate Mammals. Evol Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-021-09555-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe primate skull hosts a unique combination of anatomical features among mammals, such as a short face, wide orbits, and big braincase. Together with a trend to fuse bones in late development, these features define the anatomical organization of the skull of primates—which bones articulate to each other and the pattern this creates. Here, I quantified the anatomical organization of the skull of 17 primates and 15 non-primate mammals using anatomical network analysis to assess how the skulls of primates have diverged from those of other mammals, and whether their anatomical differences coevolved with brain size. Results show that primates have a greater anatomical integration of their skulls and a greater disparity among bones than other non-primate mammals. Brain size seems to contribute in part to this difference, but its true effect could not be conclusively proven. This supports the hypothesis that primates have a distinct anatomical organization of the skull, but whether this is related to their larger brains remains an open question.
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Makarova AA, Polilov AA, Chklovskii DB. Small brains for big science. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:77-83. [PMID: 34656052 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
As the study of the human brain is complicated by its sheer scale, complexity, and impracticality of invasive experiments, neuroscience research has long relied on model organisms. The brains of macaque, mouse, zebrafish, fruit fly, nematode, and others have yielded many secrets that advanced our understanding of the human brain. Here, we propose that adding miniature insects to this collection would reduce the costs and accelerate brain research. The smallest insects occupy a special place among miniature animals: despite their body sizes, comparable to unicellular organisms, they retain complex brains that include thousands of neurons. Their brains possess the advantages of those in insects, such as neuronal identifiability and the connectome stereotypy, yet are smaller and hence easier to map and understand. Finally, the brains of miniature insects offer insights into the evolution of brain design.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexey A Polilov
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitri B Chklovskii
- CCN, Flatiron Institute and Neuroscience Institute, NYUMC, New York, United States.
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30
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Waugh DA, Thewissen JGM. The pattern of brain-size change in the early evolution of cetaceans. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257803. [PMID: 34582492 PMCID: PMC8478358 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Most authors have identified two rapid increases in relative brain size (encephalization quotient, EQ) in cetacean evolution: first at the origin of the modern suborders (odontocetes and mysticetes) around the Eocene-Oligocene transition, and a second at the origin of the delphinoid odontocetes during the middle Miocene. We explore how methods used to estimate brain and body mass alter this perceived timing and rate of cetacean EQ evolution. We provide new data on modern mammals (mysticetes, odontocetes, and terrestrial artiodactyls) and show that brain mass and endocranial volume scale allometrically, and that endocranial volume is not a direct proxy for brain mass. We demonstrate that inconsistencies in the methods used to estimate body size across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary have caused a spurious pattern in earlier relative brain size studies. Instead, we employ a single method, using occipital condyle width as a skeletal proxy for body mass using a new dataset of extant cetaceans, to clarify this pattern. We suggest that cetacean relative brain size is most accurately portrayed using EQs based on the scaling coefficients as observed in the closely related terrestrial artiodactyls. Finally, we include additional data for an Eocene whale, raising the sample size of Eocene archaeocetes to seven. Our analysis of fossil cetacean EQ is different from previous works which had shown that a sudden increase in EQ coincided with the origin of odontocetes at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. Instead, our data show that brain size increased at the origin of basilosaurids, 5 million years before the Eocene-Oligocene transition, and we do not observe a significant increase in relative brain size at the origin of odontocetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Waugh
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio
Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, United States of America
| | - J. G. M. Thewissen
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio
Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, United States of America
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31
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Collado MÁ, Montaner CM, Molina FP, Sol D, Bartomeus I. Brain size predicts learning abilities in bees. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201940. [PMID: 34017597 PMCID: PMC8131939 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
When it comes to the brain, bigger is generally considered better in terms of cognitive performance. While this notion is supported by studies of birds and primates showing that larger brains improve learning capacity, similar evidence is surprisingly lacking for invertebrates. Although the brain of invertebrates is smaller and simpler than that of vertebrates, recent work in insects has revealed enormous variation in size across species. Here, we ask whether bee species that have larger brains also have higher learning abilities. We conducted an experiment in which field-collected individuals had to associate an unconditioned stimulus (sucrose) with a conditioned stimulus (coloured strip). We found that most species can learn to associate a colour with a reward, yet some do so better than others. These differences in learning were related to brain size: species with larger brains-both absolute and relative to body size-exhibited enhanced performance to learn the reward-colour association. Our finding highlights the functional significance of brain size in insects, filling a major gap in our understanding of brain evolution and opening new opportunities for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Á. Collado
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avd. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF-UAB), Campus de Bellaterra, Edifici C, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Spain
| | - Cristina M. Montaner
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avd. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Francisco P. Molina
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avd. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF-UAB), Campus de Bellaterra, Edifici C, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Spain
| | - Daniel Sol
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF-UAB), Campus de Bellaterra, Edifici C, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Spain
| | - Ignasi Bartomeus
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avd. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
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32
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A Review of Effects of Environment on Brain Size in Insects. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12050461. [PMID: 34067515 PMCID: PMC8156428 DOI: 10.3390/insects12050461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary What makes a big brain is fascinating since it is considered as a measure of intelligence. Above all, brain size is associated with body size. If species that have evolved with complex social behaviours possess relatively bigger brains than those deprived of such behaviours, this does not constitute the only factor affecting brain size. Other factors such as individual experience or surrounding environment also play roles in the size of the brain. In this review, I summarize the recent findings about the effects of environment on brain size in insects. I also discuss evidence about how the environment has an impact on sensory systems and influences brain size. Abstract Brain size fascinates society as well as researchers since it is a measure often associated with intelligence and was used to define species with high “intellectual capabilities”. In general, brain size is correlated with body size. However, there are disparities in terms of relative brain size between species that may be explained by several factors such as the complexity of social behaviour, the ‘social brain hypothesis’, or learning and memory capabilities. These disparities are used to classify species according to an ‘encephalization quotient’. However, environment also has an important role on the development and evolution of brain size. In this review, I summarise the recent studies looking at the effects of environment on brain size in insects, and introduce the idea that the role of environment might be mediated through the relationship between olfaction and vision. I also discussed this idea with studies that contradict this way of thinking.
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33
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Elizondo Lara LC, Young J, Schliep K, De León LF. Brain Allometry Across Macroevolutionary Scales in Squamates Suggests a Conserved Pattern in Snakes. ZOOLOGY 2021; 146:125926. [PMID: 33932854 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2021.125926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite historical interest in brain size evolution in vertebrates, few studies have assessed variation in brain size in squamate reptiles such as snakes and lizards. Here, we analyzed the pattern of brain allometry at macroevolutionary scale in snakes and lizards, using body mass and snout vent length as measures of body size. We also assessed potential energetic trade-offs associated with relative brain size changes in Crotalinae vipers. Body mass showed a conserved pattern of brain allometry across taxa of snakes, but not in lizards. Body length favored changes of brain allometry in both snakes and lizards, but less variability was observed in snakes. Moreover, we did not find evidence for trade-offs between brain size and the size of other organs in Crotalinae. Thus, despite the contribution of body elongation to changes in relative brain size in squamate reptiles, snakes present low variation in brain allometry across taxa. Although the mechanisms driving this conserved pattern are unknown, we hypothesize that the snake body plan plays an important role in balancing the energetic demands of brain and body size increase at macroevolutionary scales. We encourage future research on the evolution of brain and body size in snakes to test this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis C Elizondo Lara
- Programa de Maestría en Ciencias Biológicas, Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad de Panamá, Avenida Simón Bolívar, Panama City, Panama, Apartado 3366 Panama 4, Panama; Departamento de Fisiología y Comportamiento Animal, Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnología, Universidad de Panamá, Avenida Simón Bolívar, Panama City, Panama, Apartado 3366 Panama 4, Panama.
| | - José Young
- Departamento de Fisiología y Comportamiento Animal, Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnología, Universidad de Panamá, Avenida Simón Bolívar, Panama City, Panama, Apartado 3366 Panama 4, Panama
| | - Klaus Schliep
- Institute of Computational Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
| | - Luis F De León
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA; Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT-AIP), City of Knowledge, Clayton, Panama
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Smaers JB, Rothman RS, Hudson DR, Balanoff AM, Beatty B, Dechmann DKN, de Vries D, Dunn JC, Fleagle JG, Gilbert CC, Goswami A, Iwaniuk AN, Jungers WL, Kerney M, Ksepka DT, Manger PR, Mongle CS, Rohlf FJ, Smith NA, Soligo C, Weisbecker V, Safi K. The evolution of mammalian brain size. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/18/eabe2101. [PMID: 33910907 PMCID: PMC8081360 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe2101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Relative brain size has long been considered a reflection of cognitive capacities and has played a fundamental role in developing core theories in the life sciences. Yet, the notion that relative brain size validly represents selection on brain size relies on the untested assumptions that brain-body allometry is restrained to a stable scaling relationship across species and that any deviation from this slope is due to selection on brain size. Using the largest fossil and extant dataset yet assembled, we find that shifts in allometric slope underpin major transitions in mammalian evolution and are often primarily characterized by marked changes in body size. Our results reveal that the largest-brained mammals achieved large relative brain sizes by highly divergent paths. These findings prompt a reevaluation of the traditional paradigm of relative brain size and open new opportunities to improve our understanding of the genetic and developmental mechanisms that influence brain size.
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Affiliation(s)
- J B Smaers
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - R S Rothman
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - D R Hudson
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - A M Balanoff
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - B Beatty
- NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA
- United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - D K N Dechmann
- Department of Migration, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - D de Vries
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WX, UK
| | - J C Dunn
- Division of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QG, UK
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - J G Fleagle
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - C C Gilbert
- NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College, New York, NY 10065, USA
- PhD Program in Anthropology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - A Goswami
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - A N Iwaniuk
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K-3M4, Canada
| | - W L Jungers
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Association Vahatra, BP 3972, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
| | - M Kerney
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
| | - D T Ksepka
- Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT 06830, USA
- Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Division of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - P R Manger
- School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - C S Mongle
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - F J Rohlf
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - N A Smith
- Division of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
- Campbell Geology Museum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - C Soligo
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - V Weisbecker
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia
| | - K Safi
- Department of Migration, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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35
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Abstract
Across Mammalia, body size and lifespan are positively correlated. However, in domestic dogs, the opposite is true: small dogs have longer lives compared with large dogs. Here, I present literature-based data on life-history traits that may affect dog lifespan, including adaptations at the whole-organism, and organ-level. Then, I compare those same traits to wild canids. Because oxidative stress is a byproduct of aerobic metabolism, I also present data on oxidative stress in dogs that suggests that small breed dogs accumulate significantly more circulating lipid peroxidation damage compared with large breed dogs, in opposition to lifespan predictions. Further, wild canids have increased antioxidant concentrations compared with domestic dogs, which may aid in explaining why wild canids have longer lifespans than similar-sized domestic dogs. At the cellular level, I describe mechanisms that differ across size classes of dogs, including increases in aerobic metabolism with age, and increases in glycolytic metabolic rates in large breed dogs across their lifespan. To address potential interventions to extend lifespan in domestic dogs, I describe experimental alterations to cellular architecture to test the "membrane pacemaker" hypotheses of metabolism and aging. This hypothesis suggests that increased lipid unsaturation and polyunsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes can increase cellular metabolic rates and oxidative damage, leading to potential decreased longevity. I also discuss cellular metabolic changes of primary fibroblast cells isolated from domestic dogs as they are treated with commercially available drugs that are linked to lifespan and health span expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Gabriela Jimenez
- Department of Biology, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA
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Vágási CI, Vincze O, Lemaître JF, Pap PL, Ronget V, Gaillard JM. Is degree of sociality associated with reproductive senescence? A comparative analysis across birds and mammals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190744. [PMID: 33678026 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Our understanding on how widespread reproductive senescence is in the wild and how the onset and rate of reproductive senescence vary among species in relation to life histories and lifestyles is currently limited. More specifically, whether the species-specific degree of sociality is linked to the occurrence, onset and rate of reproductive senescence remains unknown. Here, we investigate these questions using phylogenetic comparative analyses across 36 bird and 101 mammal species encompassing a wide array of life histories, lifestyles and social traits. We found that female reproductive senescence: (i) is widespread and occurs with similar frequency (about two-thirds) in birds and mammals; (ii) occurs later in life and is slower in birds than in similar-sized mammals; (iii) occurs later in life and is slower with an increasingly slower pace of life in both vertebrate classes; and (iv) is only weakly associated, if any, with the degree of sociality in both classes after accounting for the effect of body size and pace of life. However, when removing the effect of species differences in pace of life, a higher degree of sociality was associated with later and weaker reproductive senescence in females, which suggests that the degree of sociality is either indirectly related to reproductive senescence via the pace of life or simply a direct outcome of the pace of life. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ageing and sociality: why, when and how does sociality change ageing patterns?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Csongor I Vágási
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Orsolya Vincze
- Department of Tisza Research, MTA Centre for Ecological Research-DRI, Debrecen, Hungary.,CREEC, UMR IRD 224-CNRS 5290-Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,CREES Centre for Research on the Ecology and Evolution of Disease, Montpellier, France
| | - Jean-François Lemaître
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive, CNRS, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Péter L Pap
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Victor Ronget
- Unité Eco-anthropologie (EA), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Michel Gaillard
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Évolutive, CNRS, Université Lyon, Villeurbanne, France
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Martin KAC. Allometry: Alice in Pinwheel Land. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R186-R188. [PMID: 33621504 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Brain size scales with body weight, but a new study has discovered that key circuits in the visual cortex of one of the world's smallest primates, the mouse lemur, Microcebus murinus, are built at the same scale as their equivalents in larger-brained primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevan A C Martin
- Institute for NeuroInformatics, UZH/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
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Zhang Y, Schepartz LA. Three-dimensional geometric morphometric studies of modern human occipital variation. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245445. [PMID: 33444349 PMCID: PMC7808672 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives To investigate three-dimensional morphological variation of the occipital bone between sexes and among populations, to determine how ancestry, sex and size account for occipital shape variation and to describe the exact forms by which the differences are expressed. Methods CT data for 214 modern crania of Asian, African and European ancestry were compared using 3D geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistics, including principal component analysis, Hotelling’s T2 test, multivariate regression, ANOVA, and MANCOVA. Results Sex differences in average occipital morphology are only observed in Europeans, with males exhibiting a pronounced inion. Significant ancestral differences are observed among all samples and are shared by males and females. Asian and African crania have smaller biasterionic breadths and flatter clivus angles compared to Europeans. Asian and European crania are similar in their nuchal and occipital plane proportions, nuchal and occipital angles, and lower inion positions compared to Africans. Centroid size significantly differs between sexes and among populations. The overall allometry, while significant, explains little of the shape variation. Larger occipital bones were associated with a more curved occipital plane, a pronounced inion, a narrower biasterionic breadth, a more flexed clivus, and a lower and relatively smaller foramen magnum. Conclusions Although significant shape differences were observed among populations, it is not recommended to use occipital morphology in sex or population estimation as both factors explained little of the observed variance. Other factors, relating to function and the environment, are suggested to be greater contributors to occipital variation. For the same reason, it is also not recommended to use the occiput in phylogenetic studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yameng Zhang
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Environmental and Social Archaeology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Lynne A. Schepartz
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Human Variation and Identification Research Unit (HVIRU), School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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Antoł A, Kozłowski J. Scaling of organ masses in mammals and birds: phylogenetic signal and implications for metabolic rate scaling. Zookeys 2020; 982:149-159. [PMID: 33239956 PMCID: PMC7652810 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.982.55639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The persistent enigma of why the whole-body metabolic rate increases hypoallometrically with body mass should be solved on both the ultimate and proximate levels. The proximate mechanism may involve hyperallometric scaling of metabolically inert tissue/organ masses, hypoallometric scaling of metabolically expensive organ masses, a decrease in mass-specific metabolic rates of organs or a combination of these three factors. Although there are literature data on the tissue/organ masses scaling, they do not consider phylogenetic information. Here, we analyse the scaling of tissue/organ masses in a sample of 100 mammalian and 22 bird species with a phylogenetically informed method (PGLS) to address two questions: the role of phylogenetic differences in organ/tissue size scaling and the potential role of organ/tissue mass scaling in interspecific metabolic rate scaling. Strong phylogenetic signal was found for the brain, kidney, spleen and stomach mass in mammals but only for the brain and leg muscle in birds. Metabolically relatively inert adipose tissue scales isometrically in both groups. The masses of energetically expensive visceral organs scale hypoallometrically in mammals, with the exception of lungs, with the lowest exponent for the brain. In contrast, only brain mass scales hypoallometrically in birds, whereas other tissues and organs scale isometrically or almost isometrically. Considering that the whole-body metabolic rate scales more steeply in mammals than in birds, the mass-specific metabolic rate of visceral organs must decrease with body mass much faster in birds than in mammals. In general, studying whole-body metabolic rate is not adequate for explaining its scaling, and measuring metabolic rates of organs, together with their contribution to body mass, is urgently required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrzej Antoł
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland.,Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland Polish Academy of Sciences Kraków Poland
| | - Jan Kozłowski
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland
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Leveraging brain-body scaling relationships for comparative studies. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:1197-1202. [PMID: 31605247 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01316-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Revised: 09/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In Horschler et al. (Anim Cognit 22(2):187-198, 2019), we found that two components of executive function (short-term memory and self-control) were strongly associated with estimated absolute brain weight across dog breeds, and argued that dogs present a powerful model for studying evolutionary links between cognition and neuroanatomy due to their extraordinary degree of intraspecific morphological variation. In a commentary on this work, Montgomery (Anim Cognit, 2019) raises concerns about the practice of estimating brain weights from brain-body scaling relationships. Montgomery explores the practical significance of this approach, ultimately concluding that such estimations should be avoided. In this response, we point out some limitations of the analyses presented by Montgomery and consider his conclusions in light of these issues. We then explore the extent to which body weight serves as a valid proxy for brain weight under varying conditions. Through simulations, we show that the consequences of using body weight as a proxy for brain weight depend on parameters including effect size, the correlation between brain and body weight, and the variance in brain and body weight within a sample. Under conditions approximating those in Horschler et al. (Anim Cognit 22(2):187-198, 2019), we find that body weight is a reliable proxy for brain weight, and that statistical results from models using either brain weight or body weight as predictor variables are highly convergent. Nonetheless, we wholeheartedly agree with Montgomery that empirical data on brain weight, structure, and cellular composition will be critical for creating new opportunities to investigate the relationships between neuroanatomy and cognition in dogs.
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