Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass(2/3)
Date
2003
Authors
White, C.
Seymour, R.
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Journal article
Citation
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2003; 100(7):4046-4049
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Craig R. White and Roger S. Seymour
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Abstract
The relationship between mammalian basal metabolic rate (BMR, ml ofO2 per h) and body mass (M, g) has been the subject of regular investigation for over a century. Typically, the relationship is expressed as an allometric equation of the form BMR = aMb. The scaling exponent (b) is a point of contention throughout this body of literature, within which arguments for and against geometric (b = 2/3) and quarter-power (b = 3/4) scaling are made and rebutted. Recently, interest in the topic has been revived by published explanations for quarter-power scaling based on fractal nutrient supply networks and four-dimensional biology. Here, a new analysis of the allometry of mammalian BMR that accounts for variation associated with body temperature, digestive state, and phylogeny finds no support for a metabolic scaling exponent of 3/4. Data encompassing five orders of magnitude variation in M and featuring 619 species from 19 mammalian orders show that BMR ∞ M2/3.
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Copyright © 2003, The National Academy of Sciences