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Dietary constraints on encephalization in primates.

Jennifer L Fish1, Charles A Lockwood

  • 1Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA. fish@caltech.edu

American Journal of Physical Anthropology
|January 24, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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The expensive tissue hypothesis suggests diet quality influences primate brain size. Improved diets allow smaller guts, freeing resources for larger brains, supporting encephalization.

Area of Science:

  • Primate evolution
  • Comparative anatomy
  • Metabolic allometry

Background:

  • Encephalization is a key aspect of primate adaptation.
  • The "expensive tissue hypothesis" posits a metabolic trade-off between brain and gut size.
  • Diet quality is inversely correlated with gut size.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the expensive tissue hypothesis prediction that diet quality correlates with brain mass, independent of body mass.
  • To investigate the role of metabolic constraints in primate brain evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of nonphylogenetic and phylogenetic comparative methods.
  • Examination of gut mass and brain mass in relation to body mass across primate taxa.
  • Evaluation of dietary quality as a predictor variable.

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Main Results:

  • Both nonphylogenetic and phylogenetic analyses supported the expensive tissue hypothesis.
  • A positive correlation was found between diet quality and brain mass, controlling for body mass.
  • Specific primate clades (Colobinae vs. Cercopithecinae) provided supporting evidence, while others (Tarsius vs. anthropoidea) presented complexities.

Conclusions:

  • Reduced relative gut mass, facilitated by improved diet quality, is a significant factor in primate encephalization.
  • Dietary adaptations play a crucial role in the evolution of large primate brains.
  • Metabolic competition between "expensive tissues" offers a viable explanation for patterns of brain size evolution.