Environmental variation and the evolution of large brains in birds.

ABSTRACT: Environmental variability has long been postulated as a major selective force in the evolution of large brains. However, assembling evidence for this hypothesis has proved difficult. Here, by combining brain size information for over 1,200 bird species with remote-sensing analyses to estimate temporal variation in ecosystem productivity, we show that larger brains (relative to body size) are more likely to occur in species exposed to larger environmental variation throughout their geographic range. Our reconstructions of evolutionary trajectories are consistent with the hypothesis that larger brains (relative to body size) evolved when the species invaded more seasonal regions. However, the alternative-that the species already possessed larger brains when they invaded more seasonal regions

SUBMITTER: Sayol F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5192215 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature