Abstract
Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between body mass, resting metabolic rate (RMR) and life history in the insectivore families Tenrecidae and Soricidae. RMR and a number of life history variables scale to body mass within both families. Residuals from least squares regression analysis produced relative or mass-independent values which were used to determine the relationship between RMR and reproduction. Within the Tenrecidae, RMR was not correlated with any of eight reproductive variables when the effect of mass was removed. The failure of species in this family to gain a reproductive advantage from elevated RMR may be due to phylogenetic constraints on reproduction. Species with elevated RMR may benefit from improved homeothermy rather than increased reproductive output. In the Soricidae, an increase in relative RMR was associated with a decrease in gestation length, an increase in specific foetal growth velocity and an increase in liter size. The possiblity that energetic and reproductive strategies in the Soricidae may have evolved under separate constraints is discussed. It is condluded that RMR is sometimes associated with life histories in the Insectivora, but its effect varies significantly between families.
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