The Body Mass Allometries as Evolutionarily Determined by the Foraging of Mobile Organisms

Abstract

It is shown that the exponents of eight across species body mass allometries can evolve from the constraints associated to the foraging process of mobile organisms. The explained exponents include those of metabolic rate, lifespan, population density, home range, population energy use, maximum life-time reproduction, maximum rate of population increase, and the level of social behaviour. Some of the theoretically deduced exponents vary with the dimensionality of the foraging behaviour, i.e., they take the values ±1/2 when foraging occurs in one dimensional, ± 1/4 and ± 3/4 when foraging occurs in two dimensions, and ± 1/6 and ± 5/6 when foraging occurs in three dimensions. In comparison, the empirically established exponents of terrestrial organisms resemble the theoretical exponents for foraging in two dimensions, whereas the empirical exponents of pelagic organisms resemble the theoretical exponents for foraging in three dimensions.