Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture
The main hypotheses on the evolution of animal cognition emphasise the role of conspecifics in affecting the socio-ecological environment shaping cognition. Yet, space is often simultaneously occupied by multiple species from the same ecological guild. These sympatric species can compete for food, w...
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2023-04-01
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| Series: | Peer Community Journal |
| Online Access: | https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.259/ |
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| author | Robira, Benjamin Perez-Lamarque, Benoît |
| author_facet | Robira, Benjamin Perez-Lamarque, Benoît |
| author_sort | Robira, Benjamin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The main hypotheses on the evolution of animal cognition emphasise the role of conspecifics in affecting the socio-ecological environment shaping cognition. Yet, space is often simultaneously occupied by multiple species from the same ecological guild. These sympatric species can compete for food, which may thereby stimulate or hamper cognition. Considering brain size as a proxy for cognition, we tested whether species sympatry impacted the evolution of cognition in frugivorous primates. We first retraced the evolutionary history of sympatry between frugivorous primate lineages. We then fitted phylogenetic models of the evolution of the size of several brain regions in frugivorous primates, considering or not species sympatry. We found that the evolution of the whole brain or brain regions used in immediate information processing was best fitted with models not considering sympatry. By contrast, models considering species sympatry best predicted the evolution of brain regions related to long-term memory of interactions with the socio-ecological environment, with a decrease in their size the higher the sympatry. We speculate that species sympatry, by generating intense food depletion, might lead to an over-complexification of resource spatiotemporality that counteracts the benefits of high cognitive abilities and/or might drive niche partitioning and specialisation, thereby inducing lower brain region sizes. In addition, we reported that primate species in sympatry diversify more slowly. This comparative study suggests that species sympatry significantly contributes to shaping primate evolution.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ddc7a30ed84b49d3b79aaafa289a12b4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2804-3871 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Peer Community In |
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| series | Peer Community Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-ddc7a30ed84b49d3b79aaafa289a12b42025-02-07T10:16:49ZengPeer Community InPeer Community Journal2804-38712023-04-01310.24072/pcjournal.25910.24072/pcjournal.259Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture Robira, Benjamin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3168-6573Perez-Lamarque, Benoît1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7112-7197CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France; Eco-anthropologie (EA), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université de Paris, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, FranceInstitut de Biologie de l’École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, Paris, France; Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, FranceThe main hypotheses on the evolution of animal cognition emphasise the role of conspecifics in affecting the socio-ecological environment shaping cognition. Yet, space is often simultaneously occupied by multiple species from the same ecological guild. These sympatric species can compete for food, which may thereby stimulate or hamper cognition. Considering brain size as a proxy for cognition, we tested whether species sympatry impacted the evolution of cognition in frugivorous primates. We first retraced the evolutionary history of sympatry between frugivorous primate lineages. We then fitted phylogenetic models of the evolution of the size of several brain regions in frugivorous primates, considering or not species sympatry. We found that the evolution of the whole brain or brain regions used in immediate information processing was best fitted with models not considering sympatry. By contrast, models considering species sympatry best predicted the evolution of brain regions related to long-term memory of interactions with the socio-ecological environment, with a decrease in their size the higher the sympatry. We speculate that species sympatry, by generating intense food depletion, might lead to an over-complexification of resource spatiotemporality that counteracts the benefits of high cognitive abilities and/or might drive niche partitioning and specialisation, thereby inducing lower brain region sizes. In addition, we reported that primate species in sympatry diversify more slowly. This comparative study suggests that species sympatry significantly contributes to shaping primate evolution. https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.259/ |
| spellingShingle | Robira, Benjamin Perez-Lamarque, Benoît Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture Peer Community Journal |
| title | Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture
|
| title_full | Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture
|
| title_fullStr | Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture
|
| title_full_unstemmed | Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture
|
| title_short | Primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture
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| title_sort | primate sympatry shapes the evolution of their brain architecture |
| url | https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.259/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robirabenjamin primatesympatryshapestheevolutionoftheirbrainarchitecture AT perezlamarquebenoit primatesympatryshapestheevolutionoftheirbrainarchitecture |