Allometric Scaling Relationships Between Body Size and Physiological Rates

The field of allometry is concerned with scaling relationships between various quantitative characterizations of organisms in relation to body size. This chapter discusses the allometric scaling laws of physiological rates and their ecological implications. It argues that the allometric scaling laws emerge because, with increasing body size, the mass of the system of tubes required to fuel the metabolism and remove waste grows faster with body size than the metabolic activity it supports.