A claim in search of evidence: reply to Manger's thermogenesis hypothesis of cetacean brain structure.
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.
Marino
Lori
L
Neuroscience and Behavioural Biology Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. lmarino@emory.edu
Butti
Camilla
C
Connor
Richard C
RC
Fordyce
R Ewan
RE
Herman
Louis M
LM
Hof
Patrick R
PR
Lefebvre
Louis
L
Lusseau
David
D
McCowan
Brenda
B
Nimchinsky
Esther A
EA
Pack
Adam A
AA
Reidenberg
Joy S
JS
Reiss
Diana
D
Rendell
Luke
L
Uhen
Mark D
MD
Van der Gucht
Estelle
E
Whitehead
Hal
H
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