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the conduit to scientists and specialists that empowers people to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises, their cultures and their homes.
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| archived words from the wise: Dr Lori Marino |
Dr Marino's research interest is in brain and behavioral evolution in mammals. Her interdisciplinary research program focuses on cross-taxonomic comparisons of neurobiology, behavioral ecology, life history, and cognition in cetaceans and primates as a vehicle for examining the evolution of mammalian intelligence.
At present, she has several ongoing projects which employ cetacean-primate comparisons in the following areas:
1) the relationship between behavioral ecology, life history, and encephalization
2) comparative neuroanatomical organization and function
3) cognitive development
4) paleoneurology and behavioral evolution. |
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| Posted: 2007 December 17 |
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Contact Lori Marino, Ph.D.
Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program
Emory University, Atlanta, USA
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| wise words |
Cetaceans Have Complex Brains for Complex Cognition
Lori Marino*, Richard C. Connor, R. Ewan Fordyce, Louis M. Herman, Patrick R. Hof, Louis Lefebvre, David Lusseau, Brenda McCowan, Esther A. Nimchinsky, Adam A. Pack, Luke Rendell, Joy S. Reidenberg, Diana Reiss, Mark D. Uhen, Estel Van der Gucht, Hal Whitehead
The brain of a sperm whale is about 60% larger in absolute mass than that of an elephant. Furthermore, the brains of toothed whales and dolphins are significantly larger than those of any nonhuman primates and are second only to human brains when measured with respect to body size. How and why did such large brains evolve in these modern cetaceans? One current view of the evolution of dolphin brains is that their large size was primarily a response to social forces—the requirements for effective functioning within a complex society characterized by communication and collaboration as well as competition among group members. In such a society, individuals can benefit from the recognition of others and knowledge of their relationships and from flexibility in adapting to or implementing new behaviors as social or ecological context shifts. Other views focus on the cognitive demands associated with the use of echolocation.
A note from whales-online.org - This article is published by PlosBiology under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
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Related PDFs
Cetaceans Have Complex Brains for Complex Cognition |
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