Fast life-histories are associated with larger brain size in killifishes

• Comparative studies suggest a negative relationship between pace of life-history, and relative energetic investment into brain size. However, since brain size typically evolves as a correlated response to selection on body size, any lag in brain size evolution will result in a shift in relative brain size (e.g. small body – large relative brain size).Coevolution between body size and life-history hence has the potential to drive secondary associations between relative brain size and life-history, when body size is correlated with life history. However, as far as we know, the relationship between relative brain size and life-history strategy has not been examined in systems that simultaneously present marked contrasts in life-history but no concordant shifts in body size. Using a common garden approach, we test the association between relative brain size and life-history in 21 species of killifish; a study system that fulfils the aforementioned requirements. Contrary to the prediction that brain size evolves through energetic trade-offs with life-history, we found that adults, but not juveniles, of fast-living species had larger relative brain sizes. Rather than an energetic link to life-history, our results suggest that fast- and slow-living species differ in terms of how cognitively demanding environments they inhabit are, or alternatively in the ontogenetic timing of somatic vs. neural growth.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Expensive Brain Hypothesis

Energy trade-off Hypothesis

comparative analysis

life-history strategies

trade-offs

relative brain size

etologi

Ethology

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)