Why do primates have big brains? In the Panamanian rainforest, scientists pitted large-brained primates against smaller-brained mammals to find out who was the smartest forager.
Primates, including humans, have larger brains than most other mammals, but why? Scientists searching for the answer have long followed a trail pointing to diet -- specifically fruit -- as the reason for why primates evolved larger brains. A team from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research tested this idea for the first time -- finding that the fruit-diet theory might be out of juice.
Fruit, after all, is a valuable but variable resource. It places cognitive demands on animals who must find fruiting trees and remember when they ripen. Studies have lent support for the dietary theory of brain evolution by showing correlations between brain size and the amount of fruit in the diet. So why did brain size increase in some species? The authors say that by refuting the fruit-diet hypothesis, their study can shift the focus to ideas beyond foraging efficiency."Larger brains might promote better episodic memory, allowing those species to better time tree visits to maximize the amount of ripe fruit encountered," says Hirsch. The authors also suggest that larger brains might be linked to tool use, culture, or the complexity of living in a social group.
Animal Learning And Intelligence Animals Nature Forest Rainforests Biodiversity Exotic Species
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