Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolf
Abstract Endangered animals in captivity may display reduced brain sizes due to captive conditions and limited genetic diversity. Captive diets, for example, may differ in nutrition and texture, altering cranial musculature and alleviating constraints on cranial shape development. Changes in brain s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12371-6 |
| _version_ | 1811248825943195648 |
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| author | Leila Siciliano-Martina Margot Michaud Brian P. Tanis Emily L. Scicluna A. Michelle Lawing |
| author_facet | Leila Siciliano-Martina Margot Michaud Brian P. Tanis Emily L. Scicluna A. Michelle Lawing |
| author_sort | Leila Siciliano-Martina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Endangered animals in captivity may display reduced brain sizes due to captive conditions and limited genetic diversity. Captive diets, for example, may differ in nutrition and texture, altering cranial musculature and alleviating constraints on cranial shape development. Changes in brain size are associated with biological fitness, which may limit reintroduction success. Little is known about how changes in brain size progress in highly managed carnivoran populations and whether such traits are retained among reintroduced populations. Here, we measured the endocranial volume of preserved Mexican wolf skulls across captive generations and between captive, wild, and reintroduced populations and assessed endocranial volume dependence on inbreeding and cranial musculature. Endocranial volume increased across captive generations. However, we did not detect a difference among captive, wild, and reintroduced groups, perhaps due to the variability across captive generations. We did not find a relationship between endocranial volume and either inbreeding or cranial musculature, although the captive population displayed an increase in the cross-sectional area of the masseter muscle. We hypothesize that the increase in endocranial volume observed across captive generations may be related to the high-quality nutrition provided in captivity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:34:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c74bb82e57d04028a153498051328881 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T15:34:53Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c74bb82e57d04028a1534980513288812022-12-22T03:26:59ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-05-011211810.1038/s41598-022-12371-6Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolfLeila Siciliano-Martina0Margot Michaud1Brian P. Tanis2Emily L. Scicluna3A. Michelle Lawing4Department of Biology, Texas State UniversityDepartment of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central AfricaDepartment of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University-CascadesDepartment of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe UniversityInterdisciplinary Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program, Texas A&M UniversityAbstract Endangered animals in captivity may display reduced brain sizes due to captive conditions and limited genetic diversity. Captive diets, for example, may differ in nutrition and texture, altering cranial musculature and alleviating constraints on cranial shape development. Changes in brain size are associated with biological fitness, which may limit reintroduction success. Little is known about how changes in brain size progress in highly managed carnivoran populations and whether such traits are retained among reintroduced populations. Here, we measured the endocranial volume of preserved Mexican wolf skulls across captive generations and between captive, wild, and reintroduced populations and assessed endocranial volume dependence on inbreeding and cranial musculature. Endocranial volume increased across captive generations. However, we did not detect a difference among captive, wild, and reintroduced groups, perhaps due to the variability across captive generations. We did not find a relationship between endocranial volume and either inbreeding or cranial musculature, although the captive population displayed an increase in the cross-sectional area of the masseter muscle. We hypothesize that the increase in endocranial volume observed across captive generations may be related to the high-quality nutrition provided in captivity.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12371-6 |
| spellingShingle | Leila Siciliano-Martina Margot Michaud Brian P. Tanis Emily L. Scicluna A. Michelle Lawing Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolf Scientific Reports |
| title | Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolf |
| title_full | Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolf |
| title_fullStr | Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolf |
| title_full_unstemmed | Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolf |
| title_short | Endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered Mexican wolf |
| title_sort | endocranial volume increases across captive generations in the endangered mexican wolf |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12371-6 |
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