TY  - JOUR
A1  - Steinhausen, Charlene
A1  - Zehl, Lyuba
A1  - Haas-Rioth, Michaela
A1  - Morcinek, Kerstin
A1  - Walkowiak, Wolfgang
A1  - Huggenberger, Stefan
T1  - Multivariate meta-analysis of brain-mass correlations in eutherian mammals
T2  - Frontiers in neuroanatomy
N2  - The general assumption that brain size differences are an adequate proxy for subtler differences in brain organization turned neurobiologists toward the question why some groups of mammals such as primates, elephants, and whales have such remarkably large brains. In this meta-analysis, an extensive sample of eutherian mammals (115 species distributed in 14 orders) provided data about several different biological traits and measures of brain size such as absolute brain mass (AB), relative brain mass (RB; quotient from AB and body mass), and encephalization quotient (EQ). These data were analyzed by established multivariate statistics without taking specific phylogenetic information into account. Species with high AB tend to (1) feed on protein-rich nutrition, (2) have a long lifespan, (3) delayed sexual maturity, and (4) long and rare pregnancies with small litter sizes. Animals with high RB usually have (1) a short life span, (2) reach sexual maturity early, and (3) have short and frequent gestations. Moreover, males of species with high RB also have few potential sexual partners. In contrast, animals with high EQs have (1) a high number of potential sexual partners, (2) delayed sexual maturity, and (3) rare gestations with small litter sizes. Based on these correlations, we conclude that Eutheria with either high AB or high EQ occupy positions at the top of the network of food chains (high trophic levels). Eutheria of low trophic levels can develop a high RB only if they have small body masses.
KW  - eutheria
KW  - mammals
KW  - brainmass
KW  - brainsize
KW  - EQ
KW  - clusteranalysis
KW  - trophiclevel
Y1  - 2016
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/41722
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-417226
SN  - 1662-5129
N1  - Copyright © 2016 Steinhausen, Zehl, Haas-Rioth, Morcinek, Walkowiak and Huggenberger. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
VL  - 10
IS  - 91
PB  - Frontiers Research Foundation
CY  - Lausanne
ER  -