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dc.contributor.authorMarino, Lori
dc.contributor.authorConnor, Richard C.
dc.contributor.authorFordyce, R. Ewan
dc.contributor.authorHerman, Louis M.
dc.contributor.authorHof, Patrick R.
dc.contributor.authorLefebvre, Louis
dc.contributor.authorLusseau, David
dc.contributor.authorMcCowan, Brenda
dc.contributor.authorNimchinsky, Esther A.
dc.contributor.authorPack, Adam A.
dc.contributor.authorRendell, Luke
dc.contributor.authorReidenberg, Joy S.
dc.contributor.authorReiss, Diana
dc.contributor.authorUhen, Mark D.
dc.contributor.authorVan der Gucht, Estel
dc.contributor.authorWhitehead, Hal
dc.date.accessioned2013-12-04T11:01:01Z
dc.date.available2013-12-04T11:01:01Z
dc.date.issued2007-05
dc.identifier.citationMarino , L , Connor , R C , Fordyce , R E , Herman , L M , Hof , P R , Lefebvre , L , Lusseau , D , McCowan , B , Nimchinsky , E A , Pack , A A , Rendell , L , Reidenberg , J S , Reiss , D , Uhen , M D , Van der Gucht , E & Whitehead , H 2007 , ' Cetaceans have complex brains for complex cognition ' , PLoS Biology , vol. 5 , no. 5 , e139 , pp. 966-972 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050139en
dc.identifier.issn1545-7885
dc.identifier.otherPURE: 652854
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 7c6af4cc-c8fe-4281-a96a-3b5d1be23f73
dc.identifier.otherWOS: 000246716700002
dc.identifier.otherScopus: 34249030562
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0002-1121-9142/work/27612572
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/4252
dc.description.abstractThe brain of a sperm whale is about 60% larger in absolute mass than that of an elephant. Furthermore, the brains of toothed whales and dolphins are significantly larger than those of any nonhuman primates and are second only to human brains when measured with respect to body size. How and why did such large brains evolve in these modern cetaceans? One current view of the evolution of dolphin brains is that their large size was primarily a response to social forces—the requirements for effective functioning within a complex society characterized by communication and collaboration as well as competition among group members. In such a society, individuals can benefit from the recognition of others and knowledge of their relationships and from flexibility in adapting to or implementing new behaviors as social or ecological context shifts. Other views focus on the cognitive demands associated with the use of echolocation. Recently, Manger made the controversial claim that cetacean brains are large because they contain an unusually large number of thermogenic glial cells whose numbers increased greatly to counteract heat loss during a decrease in ocean temperatures in the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Therefore, he argues, cetacean brain size could have evolved independently of any cognitive demands and, further, that there is neither neuronal evidence nor behavioral evidence of complex cognition in cetaceans. These claims have garnered considerable attention in the popular press, because they challenge prevailing knowledge and understanding of cetacean brain evolution, cognition, and behavior. We believe that the time is ripe to present an integrated view of cetacean brains, behavior, and evolution based on the wealth of accumulated and recent data on these topics. Our conclusions support the more generally accepted view that the large brain of cetaceans evolved to support complex cognitive abilities.
dc.format.extent7
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofPLoS Biologyen
dc.rights© 2007 Marino et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en
dc.subjectBOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHINSen
dc.subjectRESIDENT KILLER WHALESen
dc.subjectODONTOCETI TOOTHED WHALESen
dc.subjectTURSIOPS-TRUNCATUSen
dc.subjectCULTURAL TRANSMISSIONen
dc.subjectSELF-RECOGNITIONen
dc.subjectCEREBRAL-CORTEXen
dc.subjectVOCAL MIMICRYen
dc.subjectWHITE-MATTERen
dc.subjectORCINUS-ORCAen
dc.titleCetaceans have complex brains for complex cognitionen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.description.versionPublisher PDFen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Biologyen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Bioacoustics groupen
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolutionen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050139
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden


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