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Science 21 September 2001:
Vol. 293. no. 5538, pp. 2248 - 2251
DOI: 10.1126/science.1061967
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Reports

Effects of Size and Temperature on Metabolic Rate

James F. Gillooly,1* James H. Brown,12 Geoffrey B. West,23 Van M. Savage,23 Eric L. Charnov1

We derive a general model, based on principles of biochemical kinetics and allometry, that characterizes the effects of temperature and body mass on metabolic rate. The model fits metabolic rates of microbes, ectotherms, endotherms (including those in hibernation), and plants in temperatures ranging from 0° to 40°C. Mass- and temperature-compensated resting metabolic rates of all organisms are similar: The lowest (for unicellular organisms and plants) is separated from the highest (for endothermic vertebrates) by a factor of about 20. Temperature and body size are primary determinants of biological time and ecological roles.

1 Department of Biology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
2 Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.
3 Theoretical Division, MS B285, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: gillooly{at}unm.edu

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