Physical constraints on thermoregulation and flight drive morphological evolution in bats.

ABSTRACT: Body size and shape fundamentally determine organismal energy requirements by modulating heat and mass exchange with the environment and the costs of locomotion, thermoregulation, and maintenance. Ecologists have long used the physical linkage between morphology and energy balance to explain why the body size and shape of many organisms vary across climatic gradients, e.g., why larger endotherms are more common in colder regions. However, few modeling exercises have aimed at investigating this link from first principles. Body size evolution in bats contrasts with the patterns observed in other endotherms, probably because physical constraints on flight limit morphological adaptations. Here, we develop a biophysical model based on heat transfer and aerodynamic principles to investigate ener

SUBMITTER: Rubalcaba JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9169619 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature