Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate

Abstract Large relative brain size is a defining characteristic of the order Primates. Arguably, this can be attributed to selection for behavioral aptitudes linked to a larger brain size. In order for selection of a trait to occur, the trait must vary, that variation must be heritable, and enhance...

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Autores principales:	Abigail E. Colby, Clare M. Kimock, James P. Higham
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1be71d3409bd47b9a5e5649c9d9ec8dd
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1be71d3409bd47b9a5e5649c9d9ec8dd2021-12-02T12:11:12ZEndocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate10.1038/s41598-021-81265-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/1be71d3409bd47b9a5e5649c9d9ec8dd2021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81265-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Large relative brain size is a defining characteristic of the order Primates. Arguably, this can be attributed to selection for behavioral aptitudes linked to a larger brain size. In order for selection of a trait to occur, the trait must vary, that variation must be heritable, and enhance fitness. In this study, we use a quantitative genetic approach to investigate the production and maintenance of variation in endocranial volume in a population of free-ranging rhesus macaques. We measured the endocranial volume and body mass proxies of 542 rhesus macaques from Cayo Santiago. We investigated variation in endocranial volume within and between sexes. Using a genetic pedigree, we estimated heritability of absolute and relative endocranial volume, and selection gradients of both traits as well as estimated body mass in the sample. Within this population, both absolute and relative endocranial volume display variation and sexual dimorphism. Both absolute and relative endocranial volume are highly heritable, but we found no evidence of selection on absolute or relative endocranial volume. These findings suggest that endocranial volume is not undergoing selection, or that we did not detect it because selection is neither linear nor quadratic, or that we lacked sufficient sample sizes to detect it.Abigail E. ColbyClare M. KimockJames P. HighamNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Abigail E. Colby Clare M. Kimock James P. Higham Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate
description	Abstract Large relative brain size is a defining characteristic of the order Primates. Arguably, this can be attributed to selection for behavioral aptitudes linked to a larger brain size. In order for selection of a trait to occur, the trait must vary, that variation must be heritable, and enhance fitness. In this study, we use a quantitative genetic approach to investigate the production and maintenance of variation in endocranial volume in a population of free-ranging rhesus macaques. We measured the endocranial volume and body mass proxies of 542 rhesus macaques from Cayo Santiago. We investigated variation in endocranial volume within and between sexes. Using a genetic pedigree, we estimated heritability of absolute and relative endocranial volume, and selection gradients of both traits as well as estimated body mass in the sample. Within this population, both absolute and relative endocranial volume display variation and sexual dimorphism. Both absolute and relative endocranial volume are highly heritable, but we found no evidence of selection on absolute or relative endocranial volume. These findings suggest that endocranial volume is not undergoing selection, or that we did not detect it because selection is neither linear nor quadratic, or that we lacked sufficient sample sizes to detect it.
format	article
author	Abigail E. Colby Clare M. Kimock James P. Higham
author_facet	Abigail E. Colby Clare M. Kimock James P. Higham
author_sort	Abigail E. Colby
title	Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate
title_short	Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate
title_full	Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate
title_fullStr	Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate
title_full_unstemmed	Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate
title_sort	endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1be71d3409bd47b9a5e5649c9d9ec8dd
work_keys_str_mv	AT abigailecolby endocranialvolumeisvariableandheritablebutnotrelatedtofitnessinafreerangingprimate AT claremkimock endocranialvolumeisvariableandheritablebutnotrelatedtofitnessinafreerangingprimate AT jamesphigham endocranialvolumeisvariableandheritablebutnotrelatedtofitnessinafreerangingprimate
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Endocranial volume is variable and heritable, but not related to fitness, in a free-ranging primate

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