Healy Susan D, de Kort Selvino R, Clayton Nicola S
Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK, EH9 3JT.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2005 Jan;20(1):17-22. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2004.10.006.
Behavioural ecology assumes that cognitive traits and their underlying neural substrates are shaped by natural selection in much the same way as morphological traits are, resulting in adaptation to the natural environment of the species concerned. Recently, however, the 'neuroecology' approach of attempting to gain insight into brain structure and function by testing predictions about variation in brain structure based on knowledge of the lifestyle of the animal has been criticized on the grounds that such an adaptationist view cannot provide insight into the underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, the criticism has focussed on attempts to use variation in demand for spatial memory and in hippocampal size as a basis for predicting variation in cognitive abilities. Here, we revisit this critique against the field of so-called 'neuroecology' and argue that using knowledge of the natural history of animals has lead to a better understanding of the interspecific variation in spatial abilities and hippocampal size, and to the generation of novel hypotheses and predictions.
行为生态学假定，认知特征及其潜在的神经基质与形态特征一样，都是通过自然选择形成的，从而导致对相关物种自然环境的适应。然而，最近有一种“神经生态学”方法受到了批评，该方法试图通过基于动物生活方式的知识来测试关于脑结构变异的预测，从而深入了解脑结构和功能，理由是这种适应主义观点无法洞察潜在机制。此外，批评主要集中在试图将空间记忆需求的变化和海马体大小作为预测认知能力变化的基础。在此，我们重新审视针对所谓“神经生态学”领域的这一批评，并认为利用动物自然史的知识能够更好地理解空间能力和海马体大小的种间变异，并能产生新的假设和预测。
