Grow Smart and Die Young: Why Did Cephalopods Evolve Intelligence?
Authors
Ostojíc, Ljerka
Fiorito, Graziano
Publication Date
2019-01Journal Title
Trends in ecology & evolution
ISSN
0169-5347
Publisher
Elsevier
Volume
34
Issue
1
Pages
45-56
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Physical Medium
Print-Electronic
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Amodio, P., Boeckle, M., Schnell, A., Ostojíc, L., Fiorito, G., & Clayton, N. (2019). Grow Smart and Die Young: Why Did Cephalopods Evolve Intelligence?. Trends in ecology & evolution, 34 (1), 45-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.10.010
Abstract
Intelligence in large-brained vertebrates might have evolved through independent, yet similar, processes based on comparable socio-ecological pressures and slow life histories. This convergent evolutionary route, however, cannot explain why cephalopods developed large brains and flexible behavioural repertoires: cephalopods have fast life histories and live in simple social environments. Here we suggest that the loss of the external shell in cephalopods (i) caused a dramatic increase in predatory pressure, which in turn prevented the emergence of slow life histories, and (ii) allowed the exploitation of novel challenging niches, thus favouring the emergence of intelligence. By highlighting convergent and divergent aspects between cephalopods and large-brained vertebrates we illustrate how the evolution of intelligence might not be constrained to a single evolutionary route.
Keywords
Brain, Animals, Organ Size, Intelligence, Social Environment, Cephalopoda, Biological Evolution, Life History Traits
Sponsorship
M.B., N.S.C. were funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 3399933, awarded to N.S.C. A.S. was supported by an Endeavour Research Fellowship, funded by the Australian Government.
Funder references
European Research Council (339993)
Embargo Lift Date
2100-01-01
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.10.010
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/286416
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