Evidence for the expensive-tissue hypothesis in the Omei Wood Frog (Rana omeimontis)
Brain size variation across the animal kingdom can be interpreted as a trade-off between selective advantages of higher cognitive ability and the prohibitively high energy demands of a large brain. The Expensive-Tissue Hypothesis (ETH) predicts that brains are costly, and increases
in brain size will decrease the size of other metabolically costly tissues. Here, we tested this prediction using the anuran Rana omeimontis. Brain size was negatively correlated with gut length, supporting the ETH. We did not find associations between brain size and the size of other
organs (heart, liver, lungs, kidneys), but found positive correlations between brain mass and testes as well as limb muscle mass when correcting for the effects of body condition. The negative correlation between gut length and brain mass suggests that diet quality may play a role in the evolution
of brain size in R. omeimontis.
Keywords: BRAIN SIZE; EXPENSIVE-TISSUE HYPOTHESIS; ORGANS; RANA OMEIMONTIS
Document Type: Short Communication
Publication date: 01 April 2015
- The Herpetological Journal is an international scientific journal that publishes papers on the natural history of amphibians and reptiles. Experimental, observational and theoretical studies are published along with reviews and book reviews. Faunistic lists, letters and results of general surveys are not published unless they shed light on herpetological problems of wider significance.
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