The skull of a dog and a 3D model of its brain based on high-resolution CT-scanning. Credit: László Zsolt Garamszegi, Enikő Kubinyi, Kálmán Czeibert, Gergely Nagy, Tibor Csörgő, Niclas Kolm, Evolution of relative brain size in dogs—no effects of selection for breed function, litter size, or longevity, Evolution, Volume 77, Issue 7, July 2023, Pages 1591–1606, 10.1093/evolut/qpad063
A recent study published in Biology Letters challenges the traditional belief that domestication is the main cause of reduced brain size in domesticated animals, particularly dogs.
Using a phylogenetic comparative approach, researchers László Zsolt Garamszegi from the Institute of Ecology and Botany in Hungary and Niclas Kolm from the Department of Zoology at
It has long been thought that domestication leads to a decrease in brain size due to reduced selection pressures like the need for foraging, mating competition, and predator avoidance.
This reduction in brain size is believed to be a result of the decreased demand for energetically expensive brain tissue in a domesticated setting. While domesticated dogs do show a considerable decrease in brain size compared to their wild ancestor, the gray wolf, this study aimed to determine if this reduction is exceptional
Garamszegi and
Their findings indicated that the decrease in brain size in domesticated dogs is not a unique evolutionary event. The observed brain size in dogs fell within the expected range for most ancient breeds included in the study, suggesting that domestication may not be the sole factor influencing brain size reduction in canids.
2024-08-06 19:15:03
Post from phys.org
