Abstract
OPINION article Front. Ecol. Evol., 09 February 2021Sec. Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.635802
Highlights
Manipulative and Technological Skills Do Not Require a Slow Life HistorySkills Do Not Require a Slow Life History
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
A recent developmental study reveals that—at least in primates—a slow life history might be a prerequisite for skilled manipulation and technological behavior
Summary
Skills Do Not Require a Slow Life History. A recent developmental study reveals that—at least in primates—a slow life history might be a prerequisite for skilled manipulation and technological behavior. This supposition, demands critical evaluation because other taxa with a much shorter lifespan exhibit dexterous object handling and material technology. By examining object-handling and nest-building data from, respectively, mice and birds, we show that a slow life history does not govern the evolution of manipulative and technological ability. We highlight the need for a comparative, cross-taxa approach to understand drivers—such as differences in life history, ecology, task complexity, and brain size—of seemingly sophisticated behavior
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