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Smart and social? Comprehensive analysis questions link between sociality and brain increase in carnivores
This story is from the category The Brain
Date posted: 25/05/2009 New research from two evolutionary biologists questions the recent finding that sociality has played a key role in the evolution of larger brain size among several orders of mammals (Social Brain Hypothesis). Their sweeping analysis of many living and fossil carnivore species that places relative places brain size increase in an evolutionary context and finds that increased brain size is not routinely associated with sociality. Packs of hunting dogs, troops of baboons, herds of antelope: when people observe social animals, they are often struck by how intelligent they seem, and recent studies suggest that sociality has played a key role in the evolution of larger brain size among several orders of mammals. But new research from two evolutionary biologists, John Finarelli of the University of Michigan and John Flynn of the American Museum of Natural History, calls this hypothesis into question?at least for the Carnivora. After a sweeping analysis of many living and fossil carnivore species that places relative increases in brain size in an evolutionary context, Finarelli and Flynn found that increased brain size is not routinely associated with sociality. Their new research paper is being published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "The universality of the Social Brain Hypothesis does not apply," says Finarelli. "When you look at relative brain size from the point of view of the entire evolutionary history of the clade, the story starts to fall apart?at least in carnivores. This study shows that, almost assuredly, brain size is increasing for different reasons in different groups of carnivores." See the full Story via external site: www.physorg.com Most recent stories in this category (The Brain): 04/02/2017: HKU scientists utilise innovative neuroimaging approach to unravel complex brain networks |
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