The origin of allometric scaling laws in biology from genomes to ecosystems: towards a quantitative unifying theory of biological structure and organization

By Geoffrey B. West, James H. Brown. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2005

786 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Subfields: Ecology, Genetics, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b8d5266fc3909c8521575b2f6fd5a8cf96bdbeb3

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Ecology

In Genetics

In Molecular Biology

Citations in the corpus

Bridging the gap between marine biogeochemical and fisheries sciences; configuring the zooplankton link (2014, background): “…exponent has led several authors to argue that the 3/4 metabolic scaling is the result of the physical properties of internal resource–transport networks present in organisms, including the circulatory and respiratory systems (West et al., 1997; Banavar et al., 2010; West and Brown, 2005).”
Biomimetics: its practice and theory (2006, background): “…to large mammals; complexity and added functionality are achieved by adding levels of hierarchy which can be quantified quasistatically by considering the number of cell types in an organism (Bonner 1965), or in a more dynamic way by considering the provision of infrastructure (West & Brown 2005).”
Modeling environmental effects on the size-structured energy flow through marine ecosystems. Part 1: The model (2007, background): “…competitive and facilitative relationships between species) as well as metabolic processes are indeed well correlated with body size (Sheldon et al., 1972; Blueweiss et al., 1978; Gillooly et al., 2001; Brown and Gillooly, 2003; Marquet et al., 2005; West and Brown, 2005; Woodward et al., 2005).”
Size-dependent growth rates in eukaryotic and prokaryotic algae exemplified by green algae and cyanobacteria: comparisons between unicells and colonial growth forms (2006, background): “Probably due to an evolutionary response to these constraints organisms become flatter with increasing size (Niklas, 1994) or have developed other anatomical and morphological adaptations (West and Brown, 2005).”
Reconsidering the mechanistic basis of the metabolic theory of ecology (2007, background): “Distributive networks and allometric optimization The core assertion of the MTE is that minimizing the cost of transport in distribution networks requires quarter power allometries, which provides the mechanistic basis for understanding these relationships (West et al. 1997, West and Brown 2005).”
Systems medicine: the future of medical genomics and healthcare (2009, methodology): “based on allometric scaling [144] and scale relativity theory”
Mechanisms in macroecology: AWOL or purloined letter? Towards a pragmatic view of mechanism (2010, background): “Still others argue that mechanism needs to trace back even farther to the “fi rst principles of geometry, biology (e.g. natural selection), physics and chemistry” (West and Brown 2005).”
The Limitations of Hierarchical Organization* (2012, background): “Many ecologists look for ecological explanations at lower levels of organization, whether in population dynamics (MacArthur 1968; Wilson and Bossert 1971; May 1976), physiological and behavioral processes (Schoener 1986), or even chemical and physical principles (West and Brown 2005).”
The 3/4-Power Law Is Not Universal: Evolution of Isometric, Ontogenetic Metabolic Scaling in Pelagic Animals (2006, background): “Since that time, it has been commonly assumed that b is typically 3/4, a generalization known as “Kleiber’s law” or “the 3/4-power law” (Brody 1945, Hemmingsen 1960, Kleiber 1961, Peters 1983, Calder 1984, Schmidt-Nielsen 1984, Brown and West 2000, Savage et al. 2004, West and Brown 2005).”
What ' s on the horizon for macroecology? (2012, background): “It is a long-standing issue in ecology to understand the processes behind patterns (West and Brown 2005), even more so as this is a prerequisite for reliable future predictions of impacts of climate and land-use change and for the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies.”
Non-invasive measurement of steroids in fish-holding water: important considerations when applying the procedure to behaviour studies (2008, neutral): “It is standard practice to correct physiological measurements related to the metabolism of the focal animal by adjusting for the body size of the individual (West & Brown, 2005).”
Spatial Networks (2010, background): “They appear in a variety of different fields, including city streets [66, 73], plant leaves [273], river networks [269], mammalian circulatory systems [316], networks for commodities delivery [134], technological networks [278], and communication networks [255].”
Interfacing carbon nanotubes (CNT) with plants: enhancement of growth, water and ionic nutrient uptake in maize (Zea mays) and implications for nanoagriculture (2014, methodology): “In a landmark study (West and Brown 2005; Enquist 2002) West, Brown and Enquist (WBE) have argued that mass is the prime determinant of variation in physiological behavior when different organisms are compared over many orders of magnitude.”
Reducing energy demand: A review of issues, challenges and approaches (2015, background): “For example, the metabolic rate of organisms scales with the three-quarter power of mass over 27 of orders of magnitude, from the smallest microbes to the largest mammals [2,4].”