An information-theoretic approach to evaluating the size and temperature dependence of metabolic rate

White, Craig R., Frappell, Peter B. and Chown, Steven L. (2012) An information-theoretic approach to evaluating the size and temperature dependence of metabolic rate. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279 1742: 3616-3621.


Author White, Craig R.
Frappell, Peter B.
Chown, Steven L.
Title An information-theoretic approach to evaluating the size and temperature dependence of metabolic rate
Journal name Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank A*)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2012-09-07
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1098/rspb.2012.0884
Volume number 279
Issue number 1742
ISSN 0962-8452; 1471-2954
Start page 3616
End page 3621
Total pages 6
Place of publication London, United Kingdom
Publisher The Royal Society Publishing
Collection year 2013
Language eng
Abstract The effects of body mass and temperature on metabolic rate (MR) are among the most widely examined physiological relationships. Recently, these relationships have been incorporated into the metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) that links the ecology of populations, communities and ecosystems to the MR of individual organisms. The fundamental equation of MTE derives the relation between mass and MR using first principles and predicts the temperature dependence of MR based on biochemical kinetics. It is a deliberately simple, zeroth-order approximation that represents a baseline against which variation in real biological systems can be examined. In the present study, we evaluate the fundamental equation of MTE against other more parameter-rich models for MR using an information-theoretic approach to penalize the inclusion of additional parameters. Using a comparative database of MR measurements for 1359 species, from 11 groups ranging from prokaryotes to mammals, and spanning 16 orders of magnitude in mass and a 59°C range in body temperature, we show that differences between taxa in the mass and temperature dependence of MR are sufficiently large as to be retained in the best model for MR despite the requirement for estimation of 22 more parameters than the fundamental equation of MTE.
Keyword Scaling
Allometry
Metabolic theory
Q(10)
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code
Institutional Status UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collections: Official 2013 Collection
School of Biological Sciences Publications
 
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