The correlation of ecological and behavioural characteristics with morphological features of brain structures has been recurrently corroborated for different vertebrate taxa, such as mammals, birds, and fishes. Here, we asked whether such correlations can also be detected in amphibians, an animal group of great interest due to its great behavioural and ecological diversity. We analysed the shape of two brain regions, cerebellum and optic tectum, of 67 species from 32 families of the order Anura (frogs and toads), applying 2D geometric morphometrics in a phylogenetic context. We found species that share similar environments and daily patterns have a similarly shaped cerebellum and optic tectum, with diurnal and arboreal species with more varied brain shapes. We did not find a correlation between activity mode or lifestyle with shape for both brain regions; however, we found that shared ancestry had an influence in their evolution. Future studies including a higher number of species from each ecological group, and from more families, would help to better clarify whether the patterns found here are a general rule for anurans.

中文翻译：

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探索无尾动物环境与大脑形态之间的关系：比较系统发育方法

对于不同的脊椎动物类群，例如哺乳动物、鸟类和鱼类，生态和行为特征与大脑结构形态特征的相关性已被反复证实。在这里，我们询问是否也可以在两栖动物中检测到这种相关性，两栖动物是一种因其巨大的行为和生态多样性而备受关注的动物群体。我们在系统发育背景下应用 2D 几何形态计量学，分析了无尾目 32 个科（青蛙和蟾蜍）的 67 个物种的两个大脑区域（小脑和视顶盖）的形状。我们发现具有相似环境和日常模式的物种具有相似形状的小脑和视顶盖，而昼夜和树栖物种的大脑形状则更加多样化。我们没有发现活动模式或生活方式与两个大脑区域的形状之间存在相关性。然而，我们发现共同的祖先对它们的进化产生了影响。未来的研究包括来自每个生态群体和更多科的更多物种，将有助于更好地阐明这里发现的模式是否是无尾目动物的一般规则。