The costs and benefits of larger brains in fishes

Fischer, Stefan; Jungwirth, Arne

doi:10.1111/jeb.14026

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Additionally, although we found that reaching the food inside the long cylinder was more challenging, this level of difficulty might still have been too simple to reveal the fine-graded cognitive differences between individuals living in large and small groups. Nevertheless, our results are in line with other studies finding little support for the sociality and cognition hypothesis in fishes [43,44,80].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Estimating Cognitive Ability in the Wild: Validation of a Detour Test Paradigm Using a Cichlid Fish (Neolamprologus pulcher)

Jungwirth,

Horsfield,

Nührenberg

et al. 2024

Fishes

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Cognitive abilities vary within and among species, and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this variation. Two of the most prominent hypotheses regarding the evolution of cognition link increased social and habitat complexity with advanced cognitive abilities. Several studies have tested predictions derived from these two hypotheses, but these were rarely conducted under natural conditions with wild animals. However, this is of particular importance if we aim to link cognitive abilities with fitness-relevant factors to better understand the evolution of cognition. The biggest hurdle to assessing cognition in the wild is to find a suitable setup that is easy to use under field conditions. Here, we set out to evaluate an extremely simple test of cognitive ability for use with a broad range of aquatic animals in their natural habitat. We did so by developing a detour test paradigm in which fish had to detour a clear obstacle to reach a food reward. By altering the difficulty of the task, we confirmed that this setup is a valid test of cognitive abilities in wild groups of a Lake Tanganyika cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher. Subsequently, we probed specific predictions from the two major hypotheses regarding cognitive evolution using the most difficult test configuration. Specifically, we tested the variation in cognitive abilities among groups of different sizes occupying habitats of varying complexity. We find mixed support for both hypotheses, but we hope that our work inspires future investigations on the evolution of cognition in Lake Tanganyika cichlids.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Estimating Cognitive Ability in the Wild: Validation of a Detour Test Paradigm Using a Cichlid Fish (Neolamprologus pulcher)

Jungwirth,

Horsfield,

Nührenberg

et al. 2024

Fishes

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“…The mosaic brain hypothesis proposes that structural variation in the brain and its constituent functionally specialized compartments—regulated by genetic architectures (Hager et al., 2012; Hibar et al., 2015; Noreikiene et al., 2015; Zwarts et al., 2015) and developmental patterning (Sylvester et al., 2010)—may evolve independently of body size. Adaptive brain mosaicism has been identified in eusocial insects in association with reproductive and ergonomic division of labor (Godfrey & Gronenberg, 2019; Gordon & Traniello, 2018; Kamhi et al., 2016; Muscedere & Traniello, 2012; Muscedere et al., 2014; O'Donnell et al., 2013, 2018, 2019), as well as in mice (Hager et al., 2012), fish (Fischer & Jungwirth, 2022; Tamayo et al., 2020; York et al., 2019), and primates (Harrison & Montgomery, 2017). However, brain evolution may be concerted, that is, constrained by developmental processes coupling brain size to body size and/or coordinating the development of different brain centers (Finlay & Darlington, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptomic analysis of mosaic brain differentiation underlying complex division of labor in a social insect

Muratore

Mullen

Traniello

2023

J of Comparative Neurology

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Concerted developmental programming may constrain changes in component structures of the brain, thus limiting the ability of selection to form an adaptive mosaic of size‐variable brain compartments independent of total brain size or body size. Measuring patterns of gene expression underpinning brain scaling in conjunction with anatomical brain atlases can aid in identifying influences of concerted and/or mosaic evolution. Species exhibiting exceptional size and behavioral polyphenisms provide excellent systems to test predictions of brain evolution models by quantifying brain gene expression. We examined patterns of brain gene expression in a remarkably polymorphic and behaviorally complex social insect, the leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes. The majority of significant differential gene expression observed among three morphologically, behaviorally, and neuroanatomically differentiated worker size groups was attributable to body size. However, we also found evidence of differential brain gene expression unexplained by worker morphological variation and transcriptomic analysis identified patterns not linearly correlated with worker size but sometimes mirroring neuropil scaling. Additionally, we identified enriched gene ontology terms associated with nucleic acid regulation, metabolism, neurotransmission, and sensory perception, further supporting a relationship between brain gene expression, brain mosaicism, and worker labor role. These findings demonstrate that differential brain gene expression among polymorphic workers underpins behavioral and neuroanatomical differentiation associated with complex agrarian division of labor in A. cephalotes.

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“…The above studies were predominantly conducted on endothermic species. The tradeoffs between brain size and growth rate (and thus age at maturity) and reproductive output reported for endotherms are also apparent in ectotherms (anurans: [ 13 , 14 ]; fishes: [ 15 ]; reptiles: [ 16 ]). Likewise, as in mammals [ 5 ] and birds [ 12 , 13 ], larger-brained species tend to produce larger offsprings in lineages without post-hatching provisioning (frogs: [ 17 ]; lizards [Song et al, unpublished]; chondrichthyan fishes: [ 18 ]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the expensive brain hypothesis apply to amphibians and reptiles?

Song,

Griesser,

Schuppli

et al. 2023

BMC Ecol Evo

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Vertebrate brains show extensive variation in relative size. The expensive brain hypothesis argues that one important source of this variation is linked to a species’ ability to generate the energy required to sustain the brain, especially during periods of unavoidable food scarcity. Here we ask whether this hypothesis, tested so far in endothermic vertebrates, also applies to ectotherms, where ambient temperature is an additional major aspect of energy balance. Phylogenetic comparative analyses of reptiles and amphibians support the hypothesis. First, relative brain size increases with higher body temperature in those species active during the day that can gain free energy by basking. Second, relative brain size is smaller among nocturnal species, which generally face less favorable energy budgets, especially when maintaining high body temperature. However, we do not find an effect of seasonal variation in ambient temperature or food on brain size, unlike in endotherms. We conclude that the factors affecting energy balance in ectotherms and endotherms are overlapping but not identical. We therefore discuss the idea that when body temperatures are seasonally very low, cognitive benefits may be thwarted and selection on larger brain size may be rare. Indeed, mammalian hibernators may show similarities to ectotherms.

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The costs and benefits of larger brains in fishes

Cited by 5 publications

References 109 publications

Estimating Cognitive Ability in the Wild: Validation of a Detour Test Paradigm Using a Cichlid Fish (Neolamprologus pulcher)

Estimating Cognitive Ability in the Wild: Validation of a Detour Test Paradigm Using a Cichlid Fish (Neolamprologus pulcher)

Transcriptomic analysis of mosaic brain differentiation underlying complex division of labor in a social insect

Does the expensive brain hypothesis apply to amphibians and reptiles?

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