Do different methods yield equivalent estimations of brain size in birds?

 

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ocampo Vargas, Diego, Sánchez Morales, César, Barrantes Montero, Gilbert
Formato: artículo original
Fecha de Publicación:2020
Descripción:The ratio of brain size to body size (relative brain size) is often used as a measure of relative investment in the brain in ecological and evolutionary studies on a wide range of animal groups. In birds, a variety of methods have been used to measure the brain size part of this ratio, including endocranial volume, fixed brain mass, and fresh brain mass. It is still unclear, however, whether these methods yield the same results. Using data obtained from fresh corpses and from published sources, this study shows that endocranial volume, mass of fixed brain tissue, and fresh mass provide equivalent estimations of brain size for 48 bird families, in 19 orders. We found, however, that the various methods yield significantly different brain size estimates for hummingbirds (Trochilidae). For hummingbirds, fixed brain mass tends to underestimate brain size due to reduced tissue density, whereas endocranial volume overestimates brain size because it includes a larger volume than that occupied by the brain.
País:Kérwá
Institución:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Kérwá
Lenguaje:Inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:https://www.kerwa.ucr.ac.cr:10669/85717
Acceso en línea:https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/509383
https://hdl.handle.net/10669/85717
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Fresh brain mass
Fixed brain mass
Endocranial volume
Body size
Hummingbirds