Phylogenetic Analysis of the Ecology and Evolution of Mammalian Sleep

Capellini, Isabella; Barton, Robert A.; McNamara, Patrick J.; Preston, Brian T.; Nunn, Charles L.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00392.x

Cited by 162 publications

(170 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…How much sleep is needed, however, varies across mammalian species from a total number of as much as 20 h d 21 in bats to as little as 3-4 h in giraffes and elephants [3,4]. Daily sleep requirement also changes during the development of each individual, with sleep occupying most of the hours of the day in newborns but a rapidly decreasing proportion of the day with development [5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decreasing sleep requirement with increasing numbers of neurons as a driver for bigger brains and bodies in mammalian evolution

Herculano‐Houzel

2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Mammals sleep between 3 and 20 h d 21 , but what regulates daily sleep requirement is unknown. While mammalian evolution has been characterized by a tendency towards larger bodies and brains, sustaining larger bodies and brains requires increasing hours of feeding per day, which is incompatible with a large sleep requirement. Mammalian evolution, therefore, must involve mechanisms that tie increasing body and brain size to decreasing sleep requirements. Here I show that daily sleep requirement decreases across mammalian species and in rat postnatal development with a decreasing ratio between cortical neuronal density and surface area, which presumably causes sleepinducing metabolites to accumulate more slowly in the parenchyma. Because addition of neurons to the non-primate cortex in mammalian evolution decreases this ratio, I propose that increasing numbers of cortical neurons led to decreased sleep requirement in evolution that allowed for more hours of feeding and increased body mass, which would then facilitate further increases in numbers of brain neurons through a larger caloric intake per hour. Coupling of increasing numbers of neurons to decreasing sleep requirement and increasing hours of feeding thus may have not only allowed but also driven the trend of increasing brain and body mass in mammalian evolution.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decreasing sleep requirement with increasing numbers of neurons as a driver for bigger brains and bodies in mammalian evolution

Herculano‐Houzel

2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…For example, Capellini et al (2008a) found that sleep durations are shortened when animals have high metabolic rates for their body size, consistent with foraging constraints that limit the time available for sleep. Capellini et al (2008a) also found that when animals are more exposed to predation at sleep sites, their sleep durations decline (see also 3 Allison & Cicchetti 1976;Lesku et al 2006). In another study, these authors used phylogenetic methods to investigate the factors that influence the phasing of sleep (Capellini et al 2008b; see also Tobler 1989;Ball 1992).…”

mentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Lima et al 2005). Based on comparative studies in mammals, it appears that predation influences sleep patterns, at least in terms of sleep durations (Allison and Cicchetti 1976;Berger & Phillips 1995;Lesku et al 2006;Capellini et al 2008a). Evidence also exists for changes in prey sleep patterns when individuals are exposed to predators (e.g., Lesku et al 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…We then used the output from our simulated population to 4 better understand the complexities of natural systems. Our investigation builds on suggestions that predation can influence the timing of prey sleep throughout the 24-hour cycle (Capellini et al 2008a), possibly in relation to the availability of alternative prey for predators and predator search behaviour (e.g. Lima et al 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…One recent comparative study, for example, found that the number of white blood cells covaries positively with sleep durations across species ), while other studies found that sleep characteristics covary with aspects of brain size (Lesku et al 2006;Capellini et al 2009). Many recent phylogenetic comparative studies have focused on sleep duration, including the duration of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (e.g., Lesku et al 2006;Capellini et al 2008a). Other fundamental questions concern the phasing of sleep throughout the 24-hour cycle (Tobler 1989;Ball 1992).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Predation and the phasing of sleep: an evolutionary individual-based model

Acerbi

Nunn²

2011

Animal Behaviour

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Selection of sleeping trees in pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus)

Phoonjampa

Koenig

Borries

et al. 2010

American J Primatol

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Selection and use patterns of sleeping sites in nonhuman primates are suggested to have multiple functions, such as predation avoidance, but they might be further affected by range defense as well as foraging constraints or other factors. Here, we investigate sleeping tree selection by the male and female members of one group of pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus) at Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Data were collected on 113 nights, between September 2006 and January 2009, yielding data on 201 sleeping tree choices (107 by the female and 94 by the male) and on the characteristics of 71 individual sleeping trees. Each sleeping tree and all trees > or =40 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) in the home range were assessed (height, DBH, canopy structure, liana load) and mapped using a GPS. The gibbons preferentially selected tall (mean=38.5 m), emergent trees without lianas. The majority of the sleeping trees (53.5%) were used only once and consecutive reuse was rare (9.5%). Sleeping trees were closer to the last feeding tree of the evening than to the first feeding tree in the morning, and sleeping trees were located in the overlap areas with neighbors less often than expected based on time spent in these areas. These results suggest avoidance of predators as the main factor influencing sleeping tree selection in pileated gibbons. However, other non-mutually exclusive factors may be involved as well.

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Phylogenetic Analysis of the Ecology and Evolution of Mammalian Sleep

Cited by 162 publications

References 64 publications

Decreasing sleep requirement with increasing numbers of neurons as a driver for bigger brains and bodies in mammalian evolution

Decreasing sleep requirement with increasing numbers of neurons as a driver for bigger brains and bodies in mammalian evolution

Predation and the phasing of sleep: an evolutionary individual-based model

Selection of sleeping trees in pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus)

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