Published in

The Royal Society, Royal Society Open Science, 12(3), p. 160622, 2016

DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160622

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Endocranial volume is heritable and is associated with longevity and fitness in a wild mammal

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Research on relative brain size in mammals suggests that increases in brain size may generate benefits to survival and costs to fecundity: comparative studies of mammals have shown that interspecific differences in relative brain size are positively correlated with longevity and negatively with fecundity. However, as yet, no studies of mammals have investigated whether similar relationships exist within species, nor whether individual differences in brain size within a wild population are heritable. Here we show that, in a wild population of red deer ($\textit{Cervus elaphus}$), relative endocranial volume was heritable (h² = 63%; 95% credible intervals (CI) = 50-76%). In females, it was positively correlated with longevity and lifetime reproductive success, though there was no evidence that it was associated with fecundity. In males, endocranial volume was not related to longevity, lifetime breeding success or fecundity. ; Other ; Leverhulme Trust; Isaac Newton Trust; Natural Environmental Research Council (NE/L00688X/1); European Research Council (grant nos. 250098 and 294494); Australian Research Council