Body mass variation is negatively associated with brain size Evidence for the fat-brain trade-off in anurans

• Published in: Evolution Vol. 74; no. 7; pp. 1551 - 1557
• Main Authors: Huang, Yan, Mai, Chun Lan, Liao, Wen Bo, Kotrschal, Alexander
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley 01.07.2020; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adiposity - genetics; Animal cognition; Animals; Anura - anatomy & histology; Biological Evolution; Body mass; Body Weight - genetics; Brain; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain size; BRIEF COMMUNICATION; Coefficient of variation; Cognition; Cognitive ability; Energy storage; fat storage; Locomotion; Male; Organ Size - genetics; Physiology; Predation; Primates; trade‐off; Vertebrates; trade-off; Brain size; body mass; fat storage
• ISSN: 0014-3820; 1558-5646
• DOI: 10.1111/evo.13991

Species can evolve diverse strategies to survive periods of uncertainty. Animals may either invest in energy storage, allowing them to decrease foraging costs, such as locomotion or risk of predation, or they may invest in better cognitive abilities helping them to flexibly adapt their behavior to meet novel challenges. Here, we test this idea of a fat-brain trade-off in 38 species of Chinese anurans by relating the coefficient of variation of body mass (CVbodymass; as an indicator of how much animals invest into storage over the season) to brain anatomical features. After correcting for shared ancestry and body mass, we found a negative relationship between relative brain size and CVbodymass. This indicates that anurans seem to trade-off physiological and cognitive buffering during energy shortages. As similar patterns have been reported in arboreal mammals and primates our findings suggest that the fat-brain trade-off, where animals either invest into physiological or cognitive strategies to survive harsh conditions, may be a general pattern across vertebrates.