No foundation of a "3/4 power scaling law" for respiration in biology

Authors
Citation
Hu. Riisgard, No foundation of a "3/4 power scaling law" for respiration in biology, ECOL LETT, 1(2), 1998, pp. 71-73
Citations number
23
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology
Journal title
ECOLOGY LETTERS
ISSN journal
1461-023X → ACNP
Volume
1
Issue
2
Year of publication
1998
Pages
71 - 73
Database
ISI
SICI code
1461-023X(199809)1:2<71:NFOA"P>2.0.ZU;2-C
Abstract
Respiration rate (R) as a function of body mass (W) is usually expressed as R = alpha W-b. Empirically, the b value is often close to 3/4 when organis ms covering a large span in body mass are compared. But recent years resear ch on the energetic cost of growth demonstrate that young and fast growing stages show higher weight specific respiration rates than older and adult s tages, and this implies that the b values tend to be higher: b similar to 1 in small (young) organisms falling to b = 0.6-0.7 in larger (older) stages . Thus, respiration and growth are integrated through the energetic costs o f growth. This explains why the b value is not a "natural constant" and why a "3/4 power scaling law" cannot be deduced from the interplay between pur e physical and geometric constraints of the transport of oxygen.