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Brain size varies with temperature in vertebrates

dc.contributor.authorGillooly, James F.
dc.contributor.authorMcCoy, Michael W.
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-03T15:26:17Z
dc.date.available2016-06-03T15:26:17Z
dc.date.issued2014-03
dc.description.abstractThe tremendous variation in brain size among vertebrates has long been thought to be related to differences in species’ metabolic rates. It is thought that species with higher metabolic rates can supply more energy to support the relatively high cost of brain tissue. And yet, while body temperature is known to be a major determinant of metabolic rate, the possible effects of temperature on brain size have scarcely been explored. Thus, here we explore the effects of temperature on brain size among diverse vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). We find that, after controlling for body size, brain size increases exponentially with temperature in much the same way as metabolic rate. These results suggest that temperature-dependent changes in aerobic capacity, which have long been known to affect physical performance, similarly affect brain size. The observed temperature-dependence of brain size may explain observed gradients in brain size among both ectotherms and endotherms across broad spatial and temporal scales.en_US
dc.identifier.citationPeerJ; 2: p. 1-8en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.7717/peerj.301
dc.identifier.issn2167-8359
dc.identifier.pmidpmc3961153en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/5444
dc.relation.urihttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3961153/en_US
dc.subjectEncephalizationen_US
dc.subjectAllometryen_US
dc.subjectMetabolic rateen_US
dc.subjectCranial capacityen_US
dc.subjectMetabolic theoryen_US
dc.titleBrain size varies with temperature in vertebratesen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
ecu.journal.namePeerJen_US
ecu.journal.pages1-8en_US
ecu.journal.volume2en_US

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