According to an American study, animals that have the largest brains, relative to their bodies, have a greater risk of extinction of their species.
When it comes to the brain, but worth having a small one! This is in any case what seems to suggest a study published this Wednesday in the journal Proceedings B of the British Royal Society. For these scientists, having a large brain would be a handicap, even a threat to the survival of animal species.
In his work, Eric Abelson, of the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University (United States), calculated the size of the brains of 1,679 animals (of 160 different species). He then compared these measurements to data from theInternational Union for the Conservation of Nature, which assesses the risk of extinction of thousands of species and subspecies.
The results show a correlation between the encephalization coefficient, which measures the size of the brain in relation to the individual’s body, and the probability of extinction of a hope. The goal, of course, was to compare what is comparable. “This link was even stronger in small animals,” said the researcher in comments reported by Agence France Presse (AFP). Some animals with a large brain such as the sperm whale and its brain weighing nine kilos would therefore have concerns …
Higher energy consumption
On the comments side, Eric Abelson explains that “maintaining a large brain has a significant metabolic cost. It implies higher energy consumption without providing better adaptive value, ”he adds.
In addition, in his study, the researcher notes that increasing knowledge cannot protect wildlife from the dangers of the modern environment.
Finally, he concludes that the encephalization coefficient does not seem to be a real indicator of the intelligence quotient (IQ). Good news for the fairer sex confirmed by a study published last fall, according to which human intelligence is less linked to the size of the brain than to the way it is structured.
Men, although generally having larger brains than women, have in fact not demonstrated more advanced cognitive abilities than women.
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