title: A claim in search of evidence: reply to Manger's thermogenesis hypothesis of cetacean brain structure.
abstract: In a recent publication in Biological Reviews, Manger (2006) made the controversial claim that the large brains of cetaceans evolved to generate heat during oceanic cooling in the Oligocene epoch and not, as is the currently accepted view, as a basis for an increase in cognitive or information-processing capabilities in response to ecological or social pressures. Manger further argued that dolphins and other cetaceans are considerably less intelligent than generally thought. In this review we challenge Manger's arguments and provide abundant evidence that modern cetacean brains are large in order to support complex cognitive abilities driven by social and ecological forces.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Behavioural Biology Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. lmarino@emory.edu
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Butti
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Connor
authors.forename: R Ewan
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Fordyce
authors.forename: Louis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: Patrick R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Hof
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lusseau
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McCowan
authors.forename: Esther A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Nimchinsky
authors.forename: Adam A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Pack
authors.forename: Joy S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Reidenberg
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reiss
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rendell
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Uhen
authors.forename: Estelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van der Gucht
authors.forename: Hal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Whitehead
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D002591:Cetacea / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D013045:Species Specificity; D022722:Thermogenesis / Q000502:physiology