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Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution.

Daniel T Ksepka1, Amy M Balanoff2, N Adam Smith3

  • 1Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT 06830, USA; Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Division of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA; Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA.

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Summary

Avian brain evolution shows that early theropods and birds had weaker brain-body size integration. Rapid brain size increases occurred in Neoaves after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, driven by body size reduction or simultaneous growth.

Keywords:
allometryavesco-variationencephalizationendocastneurobiologypaleontology

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Area of Science:

  • Paleontology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Comparative Anatomy

Background:

  • Avian relative brain sizes rival primates, yet evolutionary patterns are unclear.
  • Understanding brain-body scaling is key to avian brain evolution.
  • Theropod dinosaurs and early birds' brain evolution requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the brain-body scaling relationship across avian evolution.
  • To identify drivers of brain size evolution in birds and their ancestors.
  • To reconstruct deep-time patterns of brain-body co-variation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a dataset of over 2,000 modern birds, fossil birds, and theropod dinosaurs.
  • Inferred brain-body co-variation patterns across geological time.
  • Analyzed brain-body size integration and evolutionary rates.

Main Results:

  • No significant relative brain size increase occurred during the theropod-bird transition or flight evolution.
  • Theropods and basal birds exhibited weaker brain-body size integration, enabling rapid changes.
  • Major brain size shifts in Neoaves post-extinction were linked to body size reduction.
  • Parrots and corvids achieved large brains through distinct pathways: parrots via body size reduction, corvids via simultaneous body and brain size increase.

Conclusions:

  • Early adaptive radiation in brain size provided a foundation for later selection and stabilization in birds.
  • Brain-body size integration dynamics played a crucial role in avian brain evolution.
  • Distinct evolutionary strategies contributed to the high relative brain sizes observed in modern bird clades.