Anthropogenic environments exert variable selection on cranial capacity in mammals

It is thought that behaviourally flexible species will be able to cope with novel and rapidly changing environments associated with human activity. However, it is unclear whether such environments are selecting for increases in behavioural plasticity, and whether some species show more pronounced evolutionary changes in plasticity. To test whether anthropogenic environments are selecting for increased behavioural plasticity within species, we measured variation in relative cranial capacity over time and space in 10 species of mammals. We predicted that urban populations would show greater cranial capacity than rural populations and that cranial capacity would increase over time in urban populations. Based on relevant theory, we also predicted that species capable of rapid population growth would show more pronounced evolutionary responses. We found that urban populations of two small mammal species had significantly greater cranial capacity than rural populations. In addition, species w...

人们普遍认为，行为可塑性（behavioural plasticity）较强的物种能够应对与人类活动相关的新颖且快速变化的环境。然而目前尚不明确，此类环境是否会筛选出行为可塑性更高的类群，亦或是部分物种在可塑性维度上展现出更显著的演化变化。为验证人为环境（anthropogenic environments）是否会促使物种内部的行为可塑性提升，我们针对10种哺乳动物的颅容量（cranial capacity）相对值在时间与空间维度上的变异情况展开了测量。我们提出如下预测：城市种群的颅容量将高于乡村种群，且城市种群的颅容量会随时间推移而增加。基于相关理论，我们同时预测：种群增长速率较快的物种，其演化响应会更为显著。我们发现，两种小型哺乳动物的城市种群颅容量显著高于乡村种群。此外，……