Environmental Influences on Neuromorphology in the Non-Native Starling Sturnus vulgaris.

ABSTRACT: Cognitive traits are predicted to be under intense selection in animals moving into new environments and may determine the success, or otherwise, of dispersal and invasions. In particular, spatial information related to resource distribution is an important determinant of neural development. Spatial information is predicted to vary for invasive species encountering novel environments. However, few studies have tested how cognition or neural development varies intraspecifically within an invasive species. In Australia, the non-native common starling Sturnus vulgaris inhabits a range of habitats that vary in seasonal resource availability and distribution. We aimed to identify variations in the brain mass and hippocampus volume of starlings in Australia related to environmental variation acr

SUBMITTER: Cardilini APA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6390445 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature