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Thermodynamic and metabolic effects on the scaling of production and population energy use

Thermodynamic and metabolic effects on the scaling of production and population energy use Ecosystem properties result in part from the characteristics of individual organisms. How these individual traits scale to impact ecosystem‐level processes is currently unclear. Because metabolism is a fundamental process underlying many individual‐ and population‐level variables, it provides a mechanism for linking individual characteristics with large‐scale processes. Here we use metabolism and ecosystem thermodynamics to scale from physiology to individual biomass production and population‐level energy use. Temperature‐corrected rates of individual‐level biomass production show the same body‐size dependence across a wide range of aerobic eukaryotes, from unicellular organisms to mammals and vascular plants. Population‐level energy use for both mammals and plants are strongly influenced by both metabolism and thermodynamic constraints on energy exchange between trophic levels. Our results show that because metabolism is a fundamental trait of organisms, it not only provides a link between individual‐ and ecosystem‐level processes, but can also highlight other important factors constraining ecological structure and dynamics. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Ecology Letters Wiley

Thermodynamic and metabolic effects on the scaling of production and population energy use

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References (41)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
1461-023X
eISSN
1461-0248
DOI
10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00526.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Ecosystem properties result in part from the characteristics of individual organisms. How these individual traits scale to impact ecosystem‐level processes is currently unclear. Because metabolism is a fundamental process underlying many individual‐ and population‐level variables, it provides a mechanism for linking individual characteristics with large‐scale processes. Here we use metabolism and ecosystem thermodynamics to scale from physiology to individual biomass production and population‐level energy use. Temperature‐corrected rates of individual‐level biomass production show the same body‐size dependence across a wide range of aerobic eukaryotes, from unicellular organisms to mammals and vascular plants. Population‐level energy use for both mammals and plants are strongly influenced by both metabolism and thermodynamic constraints on energy exchange between trophic levels. Our results show that because metabolism is a fundamental trait of organisms, it not only provides a link between individual‐ and ecosystem‐level processes, but can also highlight other important factors constraining ecological structure and dynamics.

Journal

Ecology Letters – Wiley

Published: Nov 1, 2003

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