A proposed framework for establishing and evaluating hypotheses about the behaviour of extinct organisms

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Phylogenetic signal in primate behaviour, ecology and life history.

Jason Kamilar, Natalie Cooper (2013)

Examining biological diversity in an explicitly evolutionary context has been the subject of research for several decades, yet relatively recent advances in analytical techniques and the increasing availability of species-level phylogenies, have enabled scientists to ask new questions. One such approach is to quantify phylogenetic signal to determine how trait variation is correlated with the phylogenetic relatedness of species. When phylogenetic signal is high, closely related species exhibit similar traits, and this biological similarity decreases as the evolutionary distance between species increases. Here, we first review the concept of phylogenetic signal and suggest how to measure and interpret phylogenetic signal in species traits. Second, we quantified phylogenetic signal in primates for 31 variables, including body mass, brain size, life-history, sexual selection, social organization, diet, activity budget, ranging patterns and climatic variables. We found that phylogenetic signal varies extensively across and even within trait categories. The highest values are exhibited by brain size and body mass, moderate values are found in the degree of territoriality and canine size dimorphism, while low values are displayed by most of the remaining variables. Our results have important implications for the evolution of behaviour and ecology in primates and other vertebrates.

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Genes and social behavior.

Gene Robinson, Russell Fernald, David Clayton (2008)

What genes and regulatory sequences contribute to the organization and functioning of neural circuits and molecular pathways in the brain that support social behavior? How does social experience interact with information in the genome to modulate brain activity? Here, we address these questions by highlighting progress that has been made in identifying and understanding two key "vectors of influence" that link genes, the brain, and social behavior: (i) Social information alters gene expression in the brain to influence behavior, and (ii) genetic variation influences brain function and social behavior. We also discuss how evolutionary changes in genomic elements influence social behavior and outline prospects for a systems biology of social behavior.

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Sociogenomics: social life in molecular terms.

Christina M. Grozinger, Camenzind G Robinson, C Whitfield (2005)

Spectacular progress in molecular biology, genome-sequencing projects and genomics makes this an appropriate time to attempt a comprehensive understanding of the molecular basis of social life. Promising results have already been obtained in identifying genes that influence animal social behaviour and genes that are implicated in social evolution. These findings - derived from an eclectic mix of species that show varying levels of sociality - provide the foundation for the integration of molecular biology, genomics, neuroscience, behavioural biology and evolutionary biology that is necessary for this endeavour.