Testing the metabolic theory of ecology

被引:148
作者
Price, Charles A. [1 ]
Weitz, Joshua S. [2 ,3 ]
Savage, Van M. [4 ,5 ,6 ]
Stegen, James [7 ]
Clarke, Andrew [8 ]
Coomes, David A. [9 ]
Dodds, Peter S. [10 ]
Etienne, Rampal S. [11 ]
Kerkhoff, Andrew J. [12 ,13 ]
McCulloh, Katherine [14 ]
Niklas, Karl J. [15 ]
Olff, Han [11 ]
Swenson, Nathan G. [16 ]
机构
[1] Univ Western Australia, Sch Plant Biol, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
[2] Georgia Inst Technol, Sch Biol, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
[3] Georgia Inst Technol, Sch Phys, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
[4] Univ Calif Los Angeles, David Geffen Sch Med, Dept Biomath, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
[5] Univ Calif Los Angeles, David Geffen Sch Med, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
[6] Santa Fe Inst, Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA
[7] Pacific NW Natl Lab, Div Biol Sci, Richland, WA 99352 USA
[8] British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge CB3 0ET, England
[9] Univ Cambridge, Dept Plant Sci, Cambridge CB2 3EA, England
[10] Univ Vermont, Dept Math & Stat, Burlington, VT 05401 USA
[11] Univ Groningen, Ctr Ecol & Evolutionary Studies, NL-9700 CC Groningen, Netherlands
[12] Kenyon Coll, Dept Biol, Gambier, OH 43022 USA
[13] Kenyon Coll, Dept Math, Gambier, OH 43022 USA
[14] Oregon State Univ, Dept Forest Ecosyst & Soc, Corvallis, OR 97331 USA
[15] Cornell Univ, Dept Plant Biol, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
[16] Michigan State Univ, Dept Plant Biol, E Lansing, MI 48824 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会; 澳大利亚研究理事会;
关键词
Allometry; fractal; kleiber curve; metabolic theory; metabolism; scaling theory; WBE model; GENERAL QUANTITATIVE THEORY; SCALING LAWS; ALLOMETRIC COVARIATION; TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENCE; MATHEMATICALLY CORRECT; FOREST STRUCTURE; ENQUISTS MODEL; FRACTAL MODEL; BODY-MASS; SIZE;
D O I
10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01860.x
中图分类号
Q14 [生态学(生物生态学)];
学科分类号
071012 ; 0713 ;
摘要
The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) predicts the effects of body size and temperature on metabolism through considerations of vascular distribution networks and biochemical kinetics. MTE has also been extended to characterise processes from cellular to global levels. MTE has generated both enthusiasm and controversy across a broad range of research areas. However, most efforts that claim to validate or invalidate MTE have focused on testing predictions. We argue that critical evaluation of MTE also requires strong tests of both its theoretical foundations and simplifying assumptions. To this end, we synthesise available information and find that MTE's original derivations require additional assumptions to obtain the full scope of attendant predictions. Moreover, although some of MTE's simplifying assumptions are well supported by data, others are inconsistent with empirical tests and even more remain untested. Further, although many predictions are empirically supported on average, work remains to explain the often large variability in data. We suggest that greater effort be focused on evaluating MTE's underlying theory and simplifying assumptions to help delineate the scope of MTE, generate new theory and shed light on fundamental aspects of biological form and function.
引用
收藏
页码:1465 / 1474
页数:10
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