From rxpgnews.com
Bigger Brains Help Birds in New Environments
By Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
Mar 30, 2005 - 6:44:38 AM
Larger brains are hypothesized to have evolved as an adaptation to cope with novel or changed environments, yet empirical support has been difficult to find.
Daniel Sol et al. analyzed a global database of >600 cases of deliberate human efforts to introduce 195 bird species into new environments. The authors report that species with larger brains, relative to their body mass, tend to be more successful at establishing new populations.
The authors controlled for variables that might affect a species' survival, such as native geographic range, fecundity, and broadness of diet. The researchers also searched the literature for reports of unusual behavior among newly introduced birds and found that brain size was positively correlated with establishment success through its effect on innovative behaviors, which suggests cognitive rather than noncognitive mechanisms behind the relationship between survival and brain size.
Several explanations have been suggested, according to the authors, including the ability of a larger-brained animal to learn to reach less accessible foods or to deal with changes in social structure.
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