Evolution: females have bigger brains in animals (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, January 20, 2024, 20:25 (306 days ago) @ David Turell

New study:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/female-male-animals-brain-brawn-evol...

"In fact, a study published today in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology provides the first evidence that, as male mammals evolve larger weapons for combat and to signal their fitness, the females of those species develop larger brains than expected.

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"However, while the focus has always been on what’s happening atop the heads of the males, there may be something just as remarkable taking place within the heads of the females. And it may upend what we thought about how much agency they have in choosing a mate.

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Ummat Somjee, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Texas in Austin and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, notes several limitations with the study. For instance, as the authors note, brain size does not necessarily translate to intelligence. For that conclusion, you would need behavioral data for every species involved, which is much harder to come by. (my bold)

"Similarlybrain size does not necessarily translate to intelligence. For that conclusion, , while he applauded the authors for examining as many specimens as they did, 29 species represents only a fraction of the weaponed ungulates on Earth. Who knows if the pattern might change when other antlered, horned, or tusked species are evaluated?

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“'It’s amazing natural phenomena. It’s really weird, and strange,” says Somjee of rapid antler growth and loss. “But I think one thing that’s been left out is that what’s happening in females is also quite amazing.”

"For instance, females also divert vast amounts of calcium, phosphorus, and other nutrients from their own bodies to build entire offspring within their wombs. And of course, any tissues that go on to create antlers, horns, or tusks are first created by those females.

"For Lopez’s part, she points out that much of the scientific literature has focused on the battles between males to understand the sexual selection happening within these species. After all, the prevailing story has long been that the biggest, most heavily armed males get the females.

“'But it might just be that we’re not testing it in the right ways to show that [females] do have some type of decision in the males that they end up mating with,” says Lopez."

Comment: I guess the fairer sex has more to think about. I am not aware of a human difference in brain size, but then again we don't grow horns.