Interspecific variation in brain volume among bowerbird species
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1
University of Maryland College Park, United States
Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae) are a polygynous family of songbirds in which males in 15 out of the 21 species perform elaborate courtship performances centered around ornate ‘bowers’. Males construct bowers attract the females of their respective species. The range and complexity of bower construction and courtship behavior, allows this family to be a model for studies of sexual selection. We have investigated whether the interspecific variation in courtship complexity correlates with the volumetric differences in the brains across several bowerbird species.
For this study, male bower building bowerbirds were collected in the wild. They include; two satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) , two great bowerbirds (Chlamydera nuchalis) , one spotted bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus maculatus). In addition two toothbilled bowerbirds (Scenopoeetes dentirostris), which do not build bowers, were collected along with a member of the sister group, the green catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris), which are a monogamous species.
The brains were serially sectioned in transverse plane and stained for Nissl substance. The volumes of the following regions were measured utilizing unbiased stereology: nidopallium (grouped with arcopallium), mesopallium, hyperpallium, striatum, optic tectum, cerebellum, diencephalon and brainstem (diencephalon, tegmentum, pons and medulla). Our analyses show that bowerbirds share a similar ‘cerebrotype’ with other passerines, and contrary to previous reports do not appear to exhibit any adaptive brain volume variations related to bower-building.
Keywords:
Bowerbird,
Cerebrotype,
sexual dimorphism
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster (but consider for participant symposium and student poster award)
Topic:
Anatomy and Neuroanatomy
Citation:
Park
A,
Gokhale
P,
Carr
C,
Borgia
G and
Iwaniuk
A
(2012). Interspecific variation in brain volume among bowerbird species.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00282
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Received:
30 Apr 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Miss. Annie Park, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, United States, annie.park0@gmail.com
Miss. Priyanka Gokhale, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, United States, priyanka.gokhale@gmail.com