Does the expensive brain hypothesis apply to amphibians and reptiles?

ABSTRACT: Vertebrate brains show extensive variation in relative size. The expensive brain hypothesis argues that one important source of this variation is linked to a species' ability to generate the energy required to sustain the brain, especially during periods of unavoidable food scarcity. Here we ask whether this hypothesis, tested so far in endothermic vertebrates, also applies to ectotherms, where ambient temperature is an additional major aspect of energy balance. Phylogenetic comparative analyses of reptiles and amphibians support the hypothesis. First, relative brain size increases with higher body temperature in those species active during the day that can gain free energy by basking. Second, relative brain size is smaller among nocturnal species, which generally face less favorable energ

SUBMITTER: Song Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10729550 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature