Allometric Mass Research Articles

The uneasy coexistence of predators and pathogens

.Disease and predation are both highly important in ecology, and pathogens with multiple host species have turned out to be common. Nonetheless, the interplay between multi-host epidemics and predation has received relatively little attention. Here, we analyse a model of a predator-prey system with disease in both prey and predator populations and determine reasonable parameter values using allometric mass scaling relations. Our analysis focuses on the possibility of extinction events rather than the linear stability of the model equations, and we derive approximate relations for the parameter values at which we expect these events to occur. We find that if the predator is a specialist, epidemics frequently drive the predator species to extinction. If the predator has an additional, immune prey species, predators will usually survive. Coexistence of predator and disease is impossible in the single-prey model. We conclude that for the prey species, carrying a pathogen can be an effective weapon against predators, and that being a generalist is a major advantage for a predator in the event of an epidemic affecting the prey or both species.Graphical abstract

Chaos in disease outbreaks among prey

Epidemics are highly unpredictable, and so are real-world population dynamics. In this paper, we examine a dynamical model of an ecosystem with one predator and two prey species of which one carries a disease. We find that the system behaves chaotically for a wide range of parameters. Using the allometric mass scaling of animal and disease lifetimes, we predict chaos if (a) the disease is infectious enough to persist, and (b) it affects the larger prey species. This provides another example of chaos in a Lotka-Volterra system and a possible explanation for the apparent randomness of epizootic outbreaks.

Reverse translation: effects of acclimation temperature and acute temperature challenges on oxygen consumption, diffusive water flux, net sodium loss rates, Q10 values and mass scaling coefficients in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Our understanding is limited on how fish adjust the effective permeability of their branchial epithelium to ions and water while altering O2 uptake rate (MO2) with acute and chronic changes in temperature. We investigated the effects of acclimation temperature (8°C, 13°C and 18°C) and acute temperature challenges [acute rise (acclimated at 8°C, measured at 13°C and 18°C), acute drop (acclimated at 18°C, measured at 8°C and 13°C) and intermediate (acclimated at 13°C, measured at 8°C and 18°C)] on routine MO2, diffusive water flux, and net sodium loss rates in 24-h fasted rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In the temperature challenge tests, measurements were made during the first hour. In acclimated trout at all temperatures, allometric mass scaling coefficients were much higher for diffusive water flux than for MO2. Furthermore, the diffusive water flux rate was more responsive (overall Q10 = 2.75) compared to MO2 (Q10 = 1.80) over the 8-18°C range, and for both, Q10 values were greater at 8-13°C than at 13-18°C. The net Na+ flux rates were highly sensitive to acclimation temperature with an overall Q10 of 3.01 for 8-18°C. In contrast, very different patterns occurred in trout subjected to acute temperature challenges. The net Na+ flux rate was temperature-insensitive with a Q10 around 1.0. Both MO2 and diffusive water flux rates exhibited lower Q10 values than for the acclimated rates in response to either acute increases or decreases in temperature. These results fit Pattern 5 of Precht (undercompensation, reverse effect) and more precisely Pattern IIB of Prosser (reverse translation). These inverse compensatory patterns suggest that trout do not alter their rates very much when undergoing acute thermal challenges (diurnal fluctuations, migration through the thermocline). The greater changes seen with acclimation may be adaptive to long-term seasonal changes in temperature. We discuss the roles of aquaporins, spontaneous activity, and recent feeding in these responses.

Effects of fat and exoskeletal mass on the mass scaling of metabolism in Carabidae beetles

The rate at which organisms metabolize resources and consume oxygen is tightly linked to body mass. Typically, there is a sub-linear allometric relationship between metabolic rates and body mass (mass-scaling exponent b < 1). The origin of this pattern remains one of the most intriguing and hotly debated topics in evolutionary physiology. A decrease in mass-specific metabolic rates in larger organisms might reflect disproportionate increases in body components with low metabolic activity, such as storage and skeletal tissues. Addressing this hypothesis, we studied standard metabolic rates, body mass, and fat and exoskeletal mass in males and females from 15 species of Carabidae beetles. There was a sub-linear allometric relationship of metabolic rate with body mass: b = 0.72 (phylogeny not considered), b = 0.54 (phylogeny considered). The latter exponent was significantly lower than 0.75, which is sometimes regarded as a universal exponent value in the mass scaling of metabolic rates. Contrary to our hypothesis, the relative contribution of fat and the exoskeleton to body mass decreased, rather than increased with body mass, as indicated by the sub-linear allometric mass scaling of both components (b < 1). Supporting the role of metabolically inert body components in shaping metabolic scaling, the exponents (b) for metabolism became slightly smaller (b = 0.70, phylogeny not considered; 0.52, phylogeny considered) when we removed lipids and the exoskeleton from body mass calculations and considered only the lean mass of soft tissue in the mass scaling. Overall, our results indicate that, in beetles, the relative content of metabolically inert components changes across species according to species-specific body mass. Nevertheless, we did not find evidence that this changing contribution plays a central role in the origin of interspecific metabolic scaling in carabids. Our findings stress the need for finding alternative explanations, at least in carabids, for the origin of the mass scaling of metabolic rates.

Early mortality saves energy: estimating the energetic cost of excess offspring in a seabird.

Offspring are often produced in excess as insurance against stochastic events or unpredictable resources. This strategy may result in high early-life mortality, yet age-specific mortality before offspring independence and its associated costs have rarely been quantified. In this study, we modelled age-specific survival from hatching to fledging using 24 years of data on hatching order (HO), growth and age of mortality of more than 15 000 common tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks. We found that mortality peaked directly after hatching, after which it declined rapidly. Mortality hazard was best described with the Gompertz function, and was higher with later HO, mainly due to differences in baseline mortality hazard, rather than age-dependent mortality. Based on allometric mass-metabolism relationships and detailed growth curves of starving chicks, we estimated that the average metabolizable energy intake of non-fledged chicks was only 8.7% of the metabolizable energy intake of successful chicks during the nestling phase. Although 54% of hatchlings did not fledge, our estimates suggest them to have consumed only 9.3% of the total energy consumption of all hatched chicks in the population before fledging. We suggest that rapid mortality of excess offspring is part of an adaptive brood reduction strategy to the benefit of the parents.

Leaf area index mapping with optical methods and allometric models in SMEAR flux tower footprint at Järvselja, Estonia

Abstract Leaf area index (LAI) characterizes the amount of photosynthetically active tissue in plant canopies. LAI is one of the key factors determining ecosystem net primary production and gas and energy exchange between the canopy and the atmosphere. The aim of the present study was to test different methods for LAI and effective plant area index (PAIe) estimation in mixed hemiboreal forests in Järvselja SMEAR Estonia (Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations) flux tower footprint. We used digital hemispherical images from sample plots, forest management inventory data, allometric foliage mass models, airborne discrete-return recording laser scanner (ALS) data and multispectral satellite images. The free ware program HemiSpherical Project Manager (HSP) was used to calculate canopy gap fraction from digital hemispherical photographs taken in 25 sample plots. PAIe was calculated from the gap fraction for up-scaling based on ALS point cloud metrics. The all ALS pulse returns-based canopy transmission was found to be the most suitable lidar metric to estimate PAIe in Järvselja forests. The 95-percentile (H95 ) of lidar point cloud height distribution correlates very well with allometric regression models based LAI and in birch stands the relationship was fitted with 0.7 m2 m−2 residual error. However, the relationship was specific to each allometric foliage mass model and systematic discrepancies were detected at large LAI values between the models. Relationships between the spectral reflectance and allometric LAI were not good enough to be used for LAI mapping. Therefore, airborne laser scanning data-based PAIe map was created for areas near SMEAR tower. We recommend to establish a network of permanent sample plots for forest growth and gap fraction measurements into the flux footprint of SMEAR Estonia flux tower in Järvselja to provide consistent up to date data for interpretation of the flux measurements.

Using a Laboratory‐Based Growth Model to Estimate Mass‐ and Temperature‐Dependent Growth Parameters across Populations of Juvenile Chinook Salmon

AbstractTo estimate the parameters that govern mass‐ and temperature‐dependent growth, we conducted a meta‐analysis of existing growth data from juvenile Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha that were fed an ad libitum ration of a pelleted diet. Although the growth of juvenile Chinook Salmon has been well studied, research has focused on a single population, a narrow range of fish sizes, or a narrow range of temperatures. Therefore, we incorporated the Ratkowsky model for temperature‐dependent growth into an allometric growth model; this model was then fitted to growth data from 11 data sources representing nine populations of juvenile Chinook Salmon. The model fit the growth data well, explaining 98% of the variation in final mass. The estimated allometric mass exponent (b) was 0.338 (SE = 0.025), similar to estimates reported for other salmonids. This estimate of b will be particularly useful for estimating mass‐standardized growth rates of juvenile Chinook Salmon. In addition, the lower thermal limit, optimal temperature, and upper thermal limit for growth were estimated to be 1.8°C (SE = 0.63°C), 19.0°C (SE = 0.27°C), and 24.9°C (SE = 0.02°C), respectively. By taking a meta‐analytical approach, we were able to provide a growth model that is applicable across populations of juvenile Chinook Salmon receiving an ad libitum ration of a pelleted diet.Received May 20, 2014; accepted December 4, 2014

Shifts in Mass Scaling of Respiration, Feeding, and Growth Rates across Life-Form Transitions in Marine Pelagic Organisms

The metabolic rate of organisms may be viewed as a basic property from which other vital rates and many ecological patterns emerge and that follows a universal allometric mass scaling law, or it may be considered a property of the organism that emerges as a result of the adaptation to the environment, with consequently fewer universal mass scaling properties. Here, we examine the mass scaling of respiration and maximum feeding (clearance and ingestion rates) and growth rates of heterotrophic pelagic organisms over an ∼10(15) range in body mass. We show that clearance and respiration rates have life-form-dependent allometries that have similar scaling but different intercepts, such that the mass-specific rates converge on a rather narrow size-independent range. In contrast, ingestion and growth rates follow a near-universal taxa-independent ∼3/4 mass scaling power law. We argue that the declining mass-specific clearance rates with size within taxa is related to the inherent decrease in feeding efficiency of any particular feeding mode. The transitions between feeding mode and simultaneous transitions in clearance and respiration rates may then represent adaptations to the food environment and be the result of the optimization of trade-offs that allow sufficient feeding and growth rates to balance mortality.

REPRODUCTIVE ALLOCATION AND NUTRIENT RELATIONSHIPS IN CUPHEA: A SEMI-DOMESTICATED OILSEED CROP

Interrelationships between ontogeny, allometric mass, and carbon (C): nitrogen (N): phosphorus (P) ratios were quantified in Cuphea, a semi-domesticated indeterminate and phenotypically plastic potential oilseed crop. Relative growth rate and net assimilation rate were estimated as functions of growth stages, phenotypic traits and C:N:P ratios. Ontogenically, N:P ratios in reproductive and metabolic tissues were least variable and were mainly affected by allometric leaf mass and relative growth rate. Reproductive mass is best predicted by allometric stem mass and C:N ratio in structural and metabolic tissues; whereas, net assimilation rate is best predicted by allometric total branch length and relative growth rate. The conservative N:P ratios found in reproductive and metabolic tissues are important in determining reproductive allocation in Cuphea. Large antagonistic effects of C:N on N:P ratios found in different plant tissues suggest that maximum reproductive allocation can be attained by manipulating N:P ratio during ontogeny. A greater investment of resources in reproduction may be possible for this semi-domesticated crop if nutrient and mass allocation to supporting stems and roots can be altered for the benefit of reproductive biomass.

Cross-country skiing motion equations, locomotive forces and mass scaling laws

This article presents differential equations for locomotive force and velocity during cross-country skiing. A muscle's work power is modelled. Thereafter, a locomotive force that depends on the skier's velocity is constructed. The external forces aerodynamic drag, friction forces and the force of gravity are incorporated in order to provide the equation of motion. Some allometric mass scaling relations are established and used to analyse the effect of a skier's mass on velocity. The model is tested by using a GPS instrument. We compare analytically and experimentally determined skiing distances and velocities as functions of time, and under different conditions. The article provides tools useful for practising athletes and coaches.

Effects of body size and temperature on metabolism of bream compared to sympatric roach

AbstractStandard (SMR) and routine (RMR) metabolic rates (mg O2 h−1) of bream, Abramis brama, were measured over a wide range of fish sizes and water temperatures (1-560 g wet mass, 5-23°C) by automated, computerised intermittent flow respirometry. These data were compared to similar data collected on roach, Rutilus rutilus, a sympatric species within the same subfamily Leuciscinae (Cyprinidae). For bream, both SMR and RMR were described by allometric mass exponents of 0.70 and exponential temperature dependencies over the entire size and temperature range. In bream, the temperature dependency of SMR and RMR was described by a Q10 of 2.8 and 2.2, respectively, while roach displayed Q10 values of 2.4 and 1.9, respectively. There were small but significant differences between bream and roach in the temperature dependency of SMR. Between 5 and 10°C, juvenile roach (Q10 = 5.8) and adult bream (Q10 = 4.9) displayed significantly higher sensitivity of mass-independent RMR to temperature changes than equal-sized juvenile bream and adult roach, respectively. This indicates different strategies during winter and the early spring period. When comparing these results with related literature about energy intake, it appears that roach and bream have evolved different thermal phenotypes, with bream showing a slightly more pronounced increase of metabolic energy loss and a less pronounced increase of energy intake (consumption, digestion) with temperature compared to sympatric roach.

Posthatch growth of the digestive system in wild and domesticated ducks

1. Our study was designed to test the hypothesis that domestication and artificial selection have influenced the posthatch growth and functioning of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of ducks. The mass and length of the GI tract organs, the growth of intestinal villi, the intestinal surface area and the activities of brush border digestive enzymes were measured in a commercial strain of Pekin duck and its wild ancestor, the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), at regular intervals between hatch and 16 weeks of age. 2. The growth of the digestive organs, with respect to body mass, was described using allometry. Allometric mass exponents were then used to calculate body ‘mass-corrected’, or ‘relative’ organ masses, relative surface areas and relative enzyme activities. There were appreciable differences between data presented on a mass-specific (g/kg) and a mass-corrected (g/kg b ) basis, which highlighted the importance of correcting for the complete effects of body mass when comparing the growth and function of the digestive system between strains. 3. While the process of domestication has induced major changes in the absolute characteristics of the GI tract, it has failed to have the same effect on the relative characteristics. During the first 2 weeks posthatch, the relative masses of the majority of digestive organs, and the GI tract as a whole, were the same in both strains. During weeks 3 to 5, domesticated ducks maintained higher absolute growth rates of the body and the GI tract, with the support of relatively smaller digestive organs. The relative masses of the small intestine and the GI tract as a whole were 45 and 66% higher respectively in mallards than in Pekin ducks during this period. 4. Domesticated ducks had elevated digestive enzyme activity and a greater absorptive surface area than mallards throughout development, both in absolute and relative terms. This appears to compensate for the failure of the relative masses of digestive organs in domesticated ducks to accompany the increased body mass and growth rate. 5. At 5 weeks posthatch, the absolute mass of the small intestine in domesticated ducks declined by 38%. There is no obvious explanation for this decline because the masses of other digestive organs, daily feed intake and body mass continued to rise.

Effects of meal size, meal type, body temperature, and body size on the specific dynamic action of the marine toad, Bufo marinus.

Specific dynamic action (SDA), the accumulated energy expended on all physiological processes associated with meal digestion, is strongly influenced by features of both the meal and the organism. We assessed the effects of meal size, meal type, body temperature, and body size on the postprandial metabolic response and calculated SDA of the marine toad, Bufo marinus. Peak postprandial rates of O(2) consumption (.V(O2)) and CO(2) production (.V(CO2)) and SDA increased with meal size (5%-20% of body mass). Postprandial metabolism was impacted by meal type; the digestion of hard-bodied superworms (Zophobas larva) and crickets was more costly than the digestion of soft-bodied earthworms and juvenile rats. An increase in body temperature (from 20 degrees to 35 degrees C) altered the postprandial metabolic profile, decreasing its duration and increasing its magnitude, but did not effect SDA, with the cost of meal digestion remaining constant across body temperatures. Allometric mass exponents were 0.69 for standard metabolic rate, 0.85 for peak postprandial .V(O2), and 1.02 for SDA; therefore, the factorial scope of peak postprandial .V(O2) increased with body mass. The mass of nutritive organs (stomach, liver, intestines, and kidneys) accounted for 38% and 20% of the variation in peak postprandial .V(O2) and SDA, respectively. Toads forced to exercise experienced 25-fold increases in .V(O2) much greater than the 5.5-fold increase experience during digestion. Controlling for meal size, meal type, and body temperature, the specific dynamic responses of B. marinus are similar to those of the congeneric Bufo alvarius, Bufo boreas, Bufo terrestris, and Bufo woodhouseii.

Oxygen consumption and the energetics of island-dwelling Florida cottonmouth snakes.

We measured oxygen consumption (Vo(2)) to estimate standard metabolic rates (SMR) in cottonmouth snakes (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti) from Seahorse Key and the adjacent peninsula of northern Florida. The island population is unusual because adult snakes feed on fish that are dropped by colonial nesting birds, and food resources are temporally limited relative to that of mainland populations. We found no differences in SMR between island and mainland snakes at any of four experimental temperatures (15 degrees -30 degrees C), suggesting that any adjustments to energy limitations involve other aspects of physiology or behavior. As with other viperid species, the SMR of cottonmouths is about one-half of that expected from interspecific allometric regressions previously reported for snakes generally. Allometric mass exponents of SMR averaged 0.76 and were not affected by temperature. We found that Vo(2) increased with temperature (Q(10) = 2.4-2.8) and was elevated 29% during scotophase compared with photophase. Neonates exhibited elevated Vo(2)compared with older juveniles of similar size, apparently due to assimilation of yolk that is present in the neonatal gut. In adult snakes, specific dynamic action (SDA) following feeding resulted in four- to eightfold increases in Vo(2), with magnitude and duration related positively to relative meal size. The total energy devoted to SDA increased with meal size and averaged 32.8%+/-4.4% of total ingested energy. We estimate that a nonreproductive 500-g adult cottonmouth at Seahorse Key uses 3,656 kJ of assimilated energy annually for maintenance and activity, which requires ingestion of approximately 1 kg of fish.

Cardiorespiratory Responses of Trained Boys to Treadmill and Arm Ergometry: Effect of Training Specificity

The purpose of this study was to examine the maximal cardiorespiratory responses of trained adolescent male swimmers (SWM, N = 18), soccer players (SOC, N = 18), and moderately active reference subjects (CON, N = 16) to treadmill running (TRD) and arm ergometry (ARM). Mean values (±SD)for skeletal age were similar among the three groups (12.5± 1.9, 12.7 ± 1.1, and 12.5 ± 1.6 years, for the SWM, SOC, and CON, respectively). Allometric scaling procedures, relating VO2max and body mass, were used and mass exponents of .80 and .74 were identified for TRD and ARM data, respectively. During TRD testing SOC attained significantly higher VO2max values when expressed in ml · kg−1 · min−1, or ml · kg−0.80 · min−1 than the other two groups. However, during ARM testing, the SWM achieved significantly higher VO2peak values (ml · kg−0.74 · min−1 and scaled to arm-CSA) than SOC. The ratio of ARM-VAT to TRD-VAT was significantly higher in SWM (50.1± 9%) compared to SOC (41.2±5%), or CON (41.9 ± 6%).

The effect of body mass and temperature on the heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output of larvae of the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss.

The goal of this experiment was to determine whether the type of tight supply-and-demand relationship between cardiac output and metabolic demand for O2 seen in juvenile and adult fish applies during larval development. To this end, we looked at how the heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) larvae varied in response to changes in tissue mass and incubation temperature. Previous studies have shown that both factors have a profound influence on metabolic rate. Heart rate and stroke volume were estimated using videomicroscopic methods and used to calculate cardiac output at five or six approximately evenly spaced intervals between hatch (approximately 15 mg wet tissue mass) and 150 accumulated thermal units (degrees C d) posthatch (approximately 50 mg tissue mass) at 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 12 degrees, and 15 degrees C. Cardiac output (range 0.2-20 microL min(-1)) increased significantly in response to increases in both tissue mass and incubation temperature. The increase in cardiac output with tissue mass reflected significant increases in stroke volume as well as heart rate. Temperature only had a significant effect on heart rate (i.e., stroke volume was unaffected). The rate of increase in cardiac output as a result of tissue growth was significantly faster than the rate at which O2 demand increased (the allometric mass exponent [+/-SE] for cardiac output was 1.78 +/- 0.08; literature values for O2 uptake average approximately 1.0), which suggests that the cardiovascular system was less important as a means of delivering O2 to the tissues in small larvae than it was in larger larvae and in juvenile and adult fish. Direct diffusion appeared to be the primary means of O2 delivery in small larvae and embryos.

Effect of temperature on the metabolic rate and evaporative water loss of the scorpion Urodacus armatus

1. 1.|There is a highly significant effect of body mass and ambient temperature on metabolic rate and evaporative water loss for the scorpion Urodacus armatus. 2. 2.|The combined effects of body mass and ambient temperature on metabolic rate are summarized by the multiple regression equation; ▪ The combined effects of body mass and ambient temperature on evaporative water loss (EWL) are summarized by the multiple regression equation; ▪ 3. 3.|The pooled allometric mass exponent for metabolic rate of 0.92 is significantly different from 1.0, 0.75 and 0.67. The pooled allometric mass exponent for evaporative water loss of 0.63 is significantly different from 0.75 and 1.0, but not from 0.67, and hence is similar to the allometric relationship for surface area of scorpions. 4. 4.|The calculated cutaneous component of evaporative water loss was 66.7% at 20°C, 72.9% at 25°C, and 74.0% of total EWL at 30°C.

Organ Metabolism in Mature Mammals as the Product of Allometric Mass and Rate

The QO2 of homologous organs exhibit differences of smaller relative magnitude than the metabolic rate of the intact mammals in the size range from the mouse to the horse. By considering not only organ QO2 but also relative organ mass it is possible to derive an expression relating organ metabolism per unit of body weight to body weight. According to the derived equation, the sum of the allometric constants relating QO2 and relative organ mass each to body weight should approximate the value -0.25. Logarithmic plots of QO2 and relative organ mass were made and the slopes (allometric values) were determined. For the three organs, liver, brain and kidney, the sum of the allometric constants approximate, according to theory, the value -0.25 generally accepted as the allometric constant relating whole animal metabolic rate to body weight.