Maximum body size increases as a function of increasing land mass. The largest mammal ( blue whale) eats some of the smallest prey - krill. A large fraction of their (smaller) body mass consists o f structure rather than reserve.
Maximum body size increases as a function of increasing land mass. The largest mammal ( blue whale) eats some of the smallest prey - krill. A large fraction of their (smaller) body mass consists o f structure rather than reserve.
Maximum body size increases as a function of increasing land mass. The largest mammal ( blue whale) eats some of the smallest prey - krill. A large fraction of their (smaller) body mass consists o f structure rather than reserve.
1) Largest
land
mammal
that
ever
lived
–
Indricotherium
( Perissodactyla)
a. Live
in
Asia
during
Late
Oligocene
and
Early
Miocene
2) Maximum
body
size
increases
as
a
function
of
increasing
land
mass
(Burness
et
al.
2001)
3) The
largest
mammal
( blue
whale)
eats
some
of
the
smallest
prey
–
krill
(sea
crustaceans)
4) Energetics
contrains
patterns
of
growth:
Hollywood
needs
allometry
5) Isometric
growth
( b=1),
Postive
allometry
( b>1),
Negative
allometry
( b<1)
6) Kleiber’s
Law,
1947
–
Metabolic
rate
s cales
to
¾
power
of
body
mass
a. Small
adults
of
one
species
respire
more
per
unit
of
w eight
than
large
adults
of
another
species
b/c
a
large
fraction
of
their
(smaller)
body
mass
consists
o f
structure
rather
than
reserve;
structual
mass
involves
maintenance
costs,
reserve
mass
does
not.
7) Sizes
of
life
a. Organism
sizes
span
27
orders
o f
magnitude
b. Smallest
known
organism
=
tiny
hydrothermal
v ent
microbe
Nanonarchaeum
equittans
c. Largest
known
organism
=
giant
sequoia,
Sequaiodendron
sempervirens
8) Relationship
between
metabolic
rate
and
body
mass
for
u nicellulars,
poikilotherms,
homeotherms
(same
s lope,
d if.
intercept)
9) ¼
power
law
for
metabolic
activities
( consistent
with
constraints
on
flow
in
a
system)
10)
Brain
s ize
scales
with
body
size,
but
d ifferently
for
d ifferent
groups
(same
s lope,
dif.
intercept)
11)
Life
span
scales
with
body
size
(positive
linear
slope)
12)
Physical
activity
level
o f
mammals
d eclines
with
increasing
body
s ize
as
the
d emands
for
thermoregulation
become
lower
13) Body
mass
is
proportional
to
biological
time
and
scale
as
M^1/4
(increasing
mass
over
time)
14) Deviations
from
expectations
are
consistent
w ith
life
history
a. in
species
where
females
are
likely
to
copulate
with
>1
partner,
male
testes
mass
is
above
the
¾
slope
line,
and
vice
v ersa.
15) Fractal
theory
–
Geoffrey
West,
physicist
at
Sante
Fe
Institute
a. A
fractal
is
a
fragmented
geometric
shape
that
can
be
split
into
s maller
parts,
each
o f
which
is
a
reduced-‐size
copy
of
the
whole,
a
property
called
s elf-‐similarity.
b. West
shows
that
infrastructure
patterns
of
cities
tend
to
follow
economies
o f
scale
s imilar
to
biological
ones
16) Frequency
distribution
of
body
s ize
among
North
A merican
land
mammals
a. Right
skewed
d istribution,
mode
tending
toward
s mall
species
(50-‐100
g)
b. Body
size
left
of
the
mode
are
limited
by
rate
of
energy
acquisition
(slope
=
0 .75)
c. Body
size
right
of
the
mode
are
limited
by
conversion
of
energy
into
offspring
(slope
=
-‐.025)
17) Small
s ized
animals
w ith
rapid
metabolism
eat
a
lot
–
shrew
a. Shrews
must
consumer
2 00-‐300%
o f
their
body
weight
per
day
( eat
every
2-‐3
h rs
or
d ie)
b. They
cannot
hibernate
(can’t
store
necessary
fat),
and
produce
a
litter
of
5-‐7
y oungs
every
22-‐25
days
during
the
summer
18) Larger
animals
can
spend
proportionately
less
energy
on
reproduction
19) Population
density
declines
with
increasing
body
s ize
20) Increasing
area
o f
geographic
range
corresponds
to
increasing
body
mass
(among
NA
land
mammals)
21) Metabolic
theory
of
biodiversity
d epends
on
temperature
a. Intrinsic
rate
o f
population
increase
(rmax),
decreases
w ith
body
mass
b. Variation
that
remains
after
the
effect
of
body
size
has
been
removed
is
explained
by
temp.
22) Marine
temperature
controls
body
size
in
ostracodes
23) Body
size
of
moose
in
Sweden
increases
with
latitude,
consistent
with
Bergmann’s
rule
24) Bergmann’s
rule
and
adaptation
to
temperature
in
bushy-‐tailed
woodrats
( body
mass
increases
with
lower
temperature)
25) Evolution
of
body
size
in
populations
o f
the
fruit
fly,
Drosophila
subobscure
in
NA
is
consistent
w ith
Bergmann’s
Rule
(wing
size
increases
w ith
increasing
latitude)
26) Clutch
s ize
as
a
function
of
lattitude
in
owls
( clutch
size
increases
with
increasing
latitude)
27) As
tuna
decline,
sardines
increase
28) Insular
forms
of
mammals
o ften
exhibit
divergent
morphological
trends
a. dwarfing
in
Giant
Deer
Megaceros
during
the
Pleistocene
b. Solenodon
( giant
insular
“shrews”)
and
related
insectivores
of
Caribb.
might
reach
1kg
mass.
c. dwarfing
in
elephants
Elaphus
during
the
Pleistocene
29) The
island
rule
and
body
size
a. Gigantism:
ecological
release
from
large
competitors
and
predators,
intensified
intraspecific
competition,
immigrant
selection
b. Dwarfism:
ecological
release
from
predators,
intensified
intraspecific
competition,
resource
limitation
and
specialization
for
insular
niches
i. Tome
drwarfing
o n
the
“island
continent”
o f
Australia
30) Is
Homo
floresiensis
an
insular
Homo?