Coevolution of relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots

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dc.contributor.authorSmeele, Simeon Q.
dc.contributor.authorConde, Dalia A.
dc.contributor.authorBaudisch, Annette
dc.contributor.authorBruslund, Simon
dc.contributor.authorIwaniuk, Andrew N.
dc.contributor.authorStaerk, Johanna
dc.contributor.authorWright, Timothy F.
dc.contributor.authorYoung, Anna M.
dc.contributor.authorMcElreath, Mary Brooke
dc.contributor.authorAplin, Lucy
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-02T20:08:23Z
dc.date.available2024-10-02T20:08:23Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.descriptionOpen access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) applies.
dc.description.abstractPrevious studies have demonstrated a correlation between longevity and brain size in a variety of taxa. Little research has been devoted to understanding this link in parrots; yet parrots are well-known for both their exceptionally long lives and cognitive complexity. We employed a large-scale comparative analysis that investigated the influence of brain size and life-history variables on longevity in parrots. Specifically, we addressed two hypotheses for evolutionary drivers of longevity: the cognitive buffer hypothesis, which proposes that increased cognitive abilities enable longer lifespans, and the expensive brain hypothesis, which holds that increases in lifespan are caused by prolonged developmental time of, and increased parental investment in, large-brained offspring. We estimated life expectancy from detailed zoo records for 133 818 individuals across 244 parrot species. Using a principled Bayesian approach that addresses data uncertainty and imputation of missing values, we found a consistent correlation between relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots. This correlation was best explained by a direct effect of relative brain size. Notably, we found no effects of developmental time, clutch size or age at first reproduction. Our results suggest that selection for enhanced cognitive abilities in parrots has in turn promoted longer lifespans.
dc.description.peer-reviewYes
dc.identifier.citationSmeele, S. Q., Conde, D. A., Baudisch, A., Bruslund, S., Iwaniuk, A., Staerk, J., Wright, T. F., Young, A. M., McElreath, M. B., & Aplin, L. (2022). Coevolution of relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289(1971). Article. 20212397. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.2397
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/6929
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherThe Royal Society Publishing
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Neuroscience
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Science
dc.publisher.institutionMax Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
dc.publisher.institutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Konstanz
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Southern Denmark
dc.publisher.institutionSpecies360 Conservation Science Alliance
dc.publisher.institutionVogelpark Marlow
dc.publisher.institutionEuropean Association of Zoos and Aquaria
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridge
dc.publisher.institutionNew Mexico State University
dc.publisher.institutionThe Living Desert Zoo and GardensPalm Desert
dc.publisher.institutionThe Australian National University
dc.publisher.urlhttps://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.2397
dc.subjectPsittaciformes
dc.subjectLongevity
dc.subjectCognitive evolution
dc.subjectBayesian structural equation model
dc.subjectCognitive buffer hypothesis
dc.subjectExpensive brain hypothesis
dc.subjectBrain size
dc.subjectParrot
dc.subject.lcshParrots
dc.titleCoevolution of relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots
dc.typeArticle
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