Brain size evolution in the frog <i>Fejervarya limnocharis</i> supports neither the cognitive buffer nor the expensive brain hypothesis

Mai, C. L.; Liao, Jia‐Feng; Zhao, Li; Liu, S. M.; Liao, Wen Bo

doi:10.1111/jzo.12432

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Data on brain size and the size of five major brain regions (e.g., olfactory nerves, olfactory bulbs, telencephalon, optic tectum, and cerebellum) for 38 species of anurans were extracted from our own previous study (Yu et al 2018; Table S1). Brain size is neither affected by the preservation duration nor the method of euthanization (Jin et al 2016;Mai et al 2017). To avoid observer bias during all procedures, samples are labeled with running numbers uninformative of species identity (Zeng et al 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body mass variation is negatively associated with brain size: Evidence for the fat‐brain trade‐off in anurans

et al. 2020

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Species can evolve diverse strategies to survive periods of uncertainty. Animals may either invest in energy storage, allowing them to decrease foraging costs, such as locomotion or risk of predation, or they may invest in better cognitive abilities helping them to flexibly adapt their behavior to meet novel challenges. Here, we test this idea of a fat‐brain trade‐off in 38 species of Chinese anurans by relating the coefficient of variation of body mass (CVbodymass; as an indicator of how much animals invest into storage over the season) to brain anatomical features. After correcting for shared ancestry and body mass, we found a negative relationship between relative brain size and CVbodymass. This indicates that anurans seem to trade‐off physiological and cognitive buffering during energy shortages. As similar patterns have been reported in arboreal mammals and primates our findings suggest that the fat‐brain trade‐off, where animals either invest into physiological or cognitive strategies to survive harsh conditions, may be a general pattern across vertebrates.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body mass variation is negatively associated with brain size: Evidence for the fat‐brain trade‐off in anurans

et al. 2020

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“…In late December 2015, we randomly captured 20 individuals (10 torpid females and 10 torpid males) from the pond where all individuals had been hibernating for 40 days. We anesthetized all individuals and killed them using single-pithing [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. We promptly performed surgical procedures to protect RNA from degradation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modulation of Gene Expression in Liver of Hibernating Asiatic Toads (Bufo gargarizans)

Jin

Yang

et al. 2018

IJMS

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Hibernation is an effective energy conservation strategy that has been widely adopted by animals to cope with unpredictable environmental conditions. The liver, in particular, plays an important role in adaptive metabolic adjustment during hibernation. Mammalian studies have revealed that many genes involved in metabolism are differentially expressed during the hibernation period. However, the differentiation in global gene expression between active and torpid states in amphibians remains largely unknown. We analyzed gene expression in the liver of active and torpid Asiatic toads (Bufo gargarizans) using RNA-sequencing. In addition, we evaluated the differential expression of genes between females and males. A total of 1399 genes were identified as differentially expressed between active and torpid females. Of these, the expressions of 395 genes were significantly elevated in torpid females and involved genes responding to stresses, as well as contractile proteins. The expression of 1004 genes were significantly down-regulated in torpid females, most which were involved in metabolic depression and shifts in the energy utilization. Of the 715 differentially expressed genes between active and torpid males, 337 were up-regulated and 378 down-regulated. A total of 695 genes were differentially expressed between active females and males, of which 655 genes were significantly down-regulated in males. Similarly, 374 differentially expressed genes were identified between torpid females and males, with the expression of 252 genes (mostly contractile proteins) being significantly down-regulated in males. Our findings suggest that expression of many genes in the liver of B. gargarizans are down-regulated during hibernation. Furthermore, there are marked sex differences in the levels of gene expression, with females showing elevated levels of gene expression as compared to males, as well as more marked down-regulation of gene-expression in torpid males than females.

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“…All individuals were confirmed to be adult males on the basis of examination of secondary sexual characters 83 , and were transferred to the laboratory and kept in individual rectangular tanks (0.5 m × 0.4 m × 0.4 m) with food for one week 10 . We anesthetized and euthanized them using benzocaine and double-pithing 84 , 85 . Finally, we preserved all specimens in 4% phosphate buffered formalin for tissue fixation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality and brain size are negatively associated in frogs: evidence for the expensive brain framework

Luo

Zhong

Huang

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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The challenges of seasonal environments are thought to contribute to brain evolution, but in which way is debated. According to the Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis (CBH) brain size should increase with seasonality, as the cognitive benefits of a larger brain should help overcoming periods of food scarcity via, for instance, increased behavioral flexibility. However, in line with the Expensive Brain Framework (EBF) brain size should decrease with seasonality because a smaller brain confers energetic benefits in periods of food scarcity. Empirical evidence is inconclusive and mostly limited to homoeothermic animals. Here we used phylogenetic comparative analyses to test the impact of seasonality on brain evolution across 30 species of anurans (frogs) experiencing a wide range of temperature and precipitation. Our results support the EBF because relative brain size and the size of the optic tectum were negatively correlated with variability in temperature. In contrast, we found no association between the variability in precipitation and the length of the dry season with either brain size or the sizes of other major brain regions. We suggest that seasonality-induced food scarcity resulting from higher variability in temperature constrains brain size evolution in anurans. Less seasonal environments may therefore facilitate the evolution of larger brains in poikilothermic animals.

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Brain size evolution in the frog Fejervarya limnocharis supports neither the cognitive buffer nor the expensive brain hypothesis

Cited by 22 publications

References 44 publications

Body mass variation is negatively associated with brain size: Evidence for the fat‐brain trade‐off in anurans

Body mass variation is negatively associated with brain size: Evidence for the fat‐brain trade‐off in anurans

Modulation of Gene Expression in Liver of Hibernating Asiatic Toads (Bufo gargarizans)

Seasonality and brain size are negatively associated in frogs: evidence for the expensive brain framework

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