The rate of metabolism in marine animals: environmental constraints, ecological demands and energetic opportunities.

ABSTRACT: The rates of metabolism in animals vary tremendously throughout the biosphere. The origins of this variation are a matter of active debate with some scientists highlighting the importance of anatomical or environmental constraints, while others emphasize the diversity of ecological roles that organisms play and the associated energy demands. Here, we analyse metabolic rates in diverse marine taxa, with special emphasis on patterns of metabolic rate across a depth gradient, in an effort to understand the extent and underlying causes of variation. The conclusion from this analysis is that low rates of metabolism, in the deep sea and elsewhere, do not result from resource (e.g. food or oxygen) limitation or from temperature or pressure constraint. While metabolic rates do decline strongly wit

SUBMITTER: Seibel BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2442854 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature