Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution

Daniel T Ksepka¹, Amy M Balanoff², N Adam Smith³, Gabriel S Bever⁴, Bhart-Anjan S Bhullar⁵, Estelle Bourdon⁶, Edward L Braun⁷, J Gordon Burleigh⁷, Julia A Clarke⁸, Matthew W Colbert⁸, Jeremy R Corfield⁹, Federico J Degrange¹⁰, Vanesa L De Pietri¹¹, Catherine M Early¹², Daniel J Field¹³, Paul M Gignac¹⁴, Maria Eugenia Leone Gold¹⁵, Rebecca T Kimball¹⁶, Soichiro Kawabe¹⁷, Louis Lefebvre¹⁸, Jesús Marugán-Lobón¹⁹, Carrie S Mongle²⁰, Ashley Morhardt²¹, Mark A Norell²², Ryan C Ridgely²³, Ryan S Rothman²⁴, R Paul Scofield¹¹, Claudia P Tambussi¹⁰, Christopher R Torres²⁵, Marcel van Tuinen²⁶, Stig A Walsh²⁷, Akinobu Watanabe²⁸, Lawrence M Witmer²³, Alexandra K Wright²⁹, Lindsay E Zanno³⁰, Erich D Jarvis³¹, Jeroen B Smaers³²

Affiliations

¹ Bruce 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. Electronic address: dksepka@brucemuseum.org.
² Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
³ Division of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA; Campbell Geology Museum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
⁴ Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
⁵ Department of Geology & Geophysics and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
⁶ UMR 7205 Laboratoire Informatique et Systématique, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 75005 Paris, France.
⁷ Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
⁸ The Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
⁹ Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 28101, USA.
¹⁰ Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra, UNC, CONICET, Córdoba X5016GCA, Argentina.
¹¹ Canterbury Museum, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand.
¹² Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA; Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
¹³ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK.
¹⁴ Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK 74107, USA.
¹⁵ Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Biology Department, Suffolk University, Boston, MA 02108, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
¹⁷ Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11 Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui 911-8601, Japan.
¹⁸ Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.
¹⁹ Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain; Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA.
²⁰ Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
²¹ Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 06130, USA.
²² Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
²³ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
²⁴ Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
²⁵ Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
²⁶ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center, Groningen 9713, the Netherlands.
²⁷ National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK.
²⁸ Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA; Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
²⁹ Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9XL, UK.
³⁰ Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
³¹ The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
³² Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.

PMID: 32330422
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.060

Free article

Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution

Daniel T Ksepka et al. Curr Biol. 2020.

Free article

. 2020 Jun 8;30(11):2026-2036.e3.

doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.060. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Bruce 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. Electronic address: dksepka@brucemuseum.org.
² Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
³ Division of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA; Campbell Geology Museum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
⁴ Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
⁵ Department of Geology & Geophysics and Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
⁶ UMR 7205 Laboratoire Informatique et Systématique, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 75005 Paris, France.
⁷ Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
⁸ The Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
⁹ Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 28101, USA.
¹⁰ Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra, UNC, CONICET, Córdoba X5016GCA, Argentina.
¹¹ Canterbury Museum, Christchurch 8013, New Zealand.
¹² Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA; Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
¹³ Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK.
¹⁴ Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK 74107, USA.
¹⁵ Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Biology Department, Suffolk University, Boston, MA 02108, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
¹⁷ Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, 51-11 Terao, Muroko, Katsuyama, Fukui 911-8601, Japan.
¹⁸ Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada.
¹⁹ Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain; Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA.
²⁰ Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
²¹ Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 06130, USA.
²² Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.
²³ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
²⁴ Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
²⁵ Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
²⁶ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center, Groningen 9713, the Netherlands.
²⁷ National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK.
²⁸ Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA; Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA; Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
²⁹ Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9XL, UK.
³⁰ Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
³¹ The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
³² Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA.

PMID: 32330422
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.060

Abstract

Relative brain sizes in birds can rival those of primates, but large-scale patterns and drivers of avian brain evolution remain elusive. Here, we explore the evolution of the fundamental brain-body scaling relationship across the origin and evolution of birds. Using a comprehensive dataset sampling> 2,000 modern birds, fossil birds, and theropod dinosaurs, we infer patterns of brain-body co-variation in deep time. Our study confirms that no significant increase in relative brain size accompanied the trend toward miniaturization or evolution of flight during the theropod-bird transition. Critically, however, theropods and basal birds show weaker integration between brain size and body size, allowing for rapid changes in the brain-body relationship that set the stage for dramatic shifts in early crown birds. We infer that major shifts occurred rapidly in the aftermath of the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction within Neoaves, in which multiple clades achieved higher relative brain sizes because of a reduction in body size. Parrots and corvids achieved the largest brains observed in birds via markedly different patterns. Parrots primarily reduced their body size, whereas corvids increased body and brain size simultaneously (with rates of brain size evolution outpacing rates of body size evolution). Collectively, these patterns suggest that an early adaptive radiation in brain size laid the foundation for subsequent selection and stabilization.

Keywords: allometry; aves; co-variation; encephalization; endocast; neurobiology; paleontology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Interests The authors declare no competing interests.

Comment in

Evolution: Brainier Birds.
Makovicky PJ, Reddy S. Makovicky PJ, et al. Curr Biol. 2020 Jul 6;30(13):R778-R780. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.025. Curr Biol. 2020. PMID: 32634422

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Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution

Affiliations

Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution

Authors

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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