Characterization of nine polymorphic microsatellite markers in sprat (Sprattus sprattus L.)

Nine polymorphic microsatellites were isolated from sprat (Sprattus sprattus) using a microsatellite enrichment protocol and selective hybridization with a biotinylated (AC)(12) probe. The loci showed different variation patterns in a Baltic Sea population (44 individuals) with mean number of alleles at 12.7 and mean observed heterozygosity at 0.78. These microsatellite loci are expected to be used for taxonomic considerations in sprat, stock differentiation and population genetic analysis.     

The allometric approach to species differences in brain size

Allometric methods can be used to test quantitative theories of the relationship between brain size and body size across species, and to search for ecological, behavioural, life history, and ontogenetic correlates of brain size. Brain size scales with an allometric exponent of around 0.75 against body size across mammals, but is closer to 0.56 for birds and for reptiles. The slope of the allometric line often varies depending upon the taxonomic level of analysis. However, this phenomenon, at least in mammals, may be a statistical artifact. Brain size for a given body size (relative brain size) varies among orders in birds and mammals, and some dietary associations with relative brain size have been found in particular taxa. Developmental status at birth is the most consistent correlate of relative brain size: precocial neonates have larger brains for a given maternal size than altricial neonates in both birds and mammals. Altricial neonates, however, have more brain growth following birth, and in birds also have larger relative adult brain sizes. Energetic explanations for differences in neonatal brain growth, although attractive on theoretical grounds, have largely failed to stand up to empirical tests.     

The predation impact of juvenile herring Clupea harengusand sprat Sprattus sprattus on estuarine zooplankton

The consumption of estuarine copepods by juvenile herring and sprat during estuarine residency was estimated using fish biomass data and daily rations calculated from two models of feeding in fish: a bioenergetic model and a gastric evacuation model. The bioenergetic model predicted daily rations that were, on average, three times higher than those estimated by a model based on field records of stomach contents. The biomass of herring and sprat in the estuary was negatively correlated with the daily ration suggesting that the clupeid fish populations were resource-limited. Copepod production decreased towards the winter and peaked in spring and summer. The relative importance of predation changed seasonally in function of the migration pattern of herring and sprat. In the spring and the summer, in situ production ofcopepod biomass was higher than the in situ consumption by fish. During the fall and the winter, consumption exceeded production. This suggests that top–down control exerted by marine pelagic fish may be an important force structuring estuarine copepod populations.     

Plants reward seed dispersers in proportion to their effort: The relationship between pulp mass and seed mass in vertebrate dispersed plants

In this paper I develop a null model for the expected relationship between seed mass and the mass of dispersal structure (reward) for vertebrate-dispersed plant species. The model is based on the simple assumption that the reward associated with a given seed mass is commensurate with work required to move it, and predicts that reward mass should scale relative to seed mass with an exponent of 4/3 (1.3). I tested this relationship between- and within-species of vertebrate-dispersed plants from four families from tropical rain forest in north Queensland, Australia. At a community-level there was a significant isometric relationship between log mean pulp mass and log mean seed mass across species. When family membership was considered, the estimate for the common slope between families was 1.32, surprisingly similar to the exponent predicted from commensurate reward. In addition, the 95% CI of the common slope did not include unity, providing no support for isometry. There was also no evidence that the relationships between mean log pulp mass and mean log seed mass were significantly different between families. This simple null model may be a common “rule” governing mean allocation to reward in all plant–animal dispersal mutualisms and its confirmation is the first evidence that animal dispersers have shaped the evolution of seed traits. However, I found no evidence that the scaling relationships within-species were consistently predicted by commensurate reward – a “taxon-level effect”. I suggest that the taxon-level effect arises because mean seed and mean reward mass within each species arises due to community-wide, disperser-mediated selection to produce equally attractive fruits, whereas within-species allometries may be determined by selection for fruit traits that enhance either dispersal probabilities, offspring survival or both, and these will be contingent on the environmental context into which seeds are released. G. P. Cheplick     

Uncertainty in allometric exponent estimation: a case study in scaling metabolic rate with body mass

Many factors could influence the allometric scaling exponent β estimation, but have not been explored systematically. We investigated the influences of three factors on the estimate of β based on a data set of 626 species of basal metabolic rate and mass in mammals. The influence of sampling error was tested by re-sampling with different sample sizes using a Monte Carlo method. Small random errors were introduced to measured data to examine their influence on parameter estimations. The influence of analysis method was also evaluated by applying nonlinear and linear regressions to the original data. Results showed that a relative large sample size was required to lower statistical inference errors. When sample size n was 10% of the base population size (n=63), 35% of the samples supported β=2/3, 39% supported β=3/4, and 15% rejected β=0.711, even though the base population had a β=0.711. The controversy surrounding the estimation of β in the literature could be partially attributable to such small sample sizes in many studies. Measurement errors in body mass and base metabolic rate, especially in body mass, could largely increase alpha and beta errors. Analysis methods also affected parameter estimations. Nonlinear regressions provided better estimates of the scaling exponent that were significantly higher than these commonly estimated by linear regressions. This study demonstrated the importance of the quantity and quality of data as well as analysis method in power law analysis, raising caution in interpreting power law results. Meta-data synthesis using data from independent studies seems to be a proper approach in the future, but caution should be taken to make sure that such measurements are made using similar protocols.     

Soil acidity, ecological stoichiometry and allometric scaling in grassland food webs

The factors regulating the structure of food webs are a central focus of community and ecosystem ecology, as trophic interactions among species have important impacts on nutrient storage and cycling in many ecosystems. For soil invertebrates in grassland ecosystems in the Netherlands, the site-specific slopes of the faunal biomass to organism body mass relationships reflected basic biochemical and biogeochemical processes associated with soil acidity and soil C : N : P stoichiometry. That is, the higher the phosphorus availability in the soil, the higher, on average, the slope of the faunal biomass size spectrum (i.e., the higher the biomass of large-bodied invertebrates relative to the biomass of small invertebrates). While other factors may also be involved, these results are consistent with the growth rate hypothesis from biological stoichiometry that relates phosphorus demands to ribosomal RNA and protein production. Thus our data represent the first time that ecosystem phosphorus availability has been associated with allometry in soil food webs (supporting information available online). Our results have broad implications, as soil invertebrates of different size have different effects on soil processes.     

The scaling of leaf area and mass: the cost of light interception increases with leaf size

For leaves, the light-capturing surface area per unit dry mass investment (specific leaf area, SLA) is a key trait from physiological, ecological and biophysical perspectives. To address whether SLA declines with leaf size, as hypothesized due to increasing costs of support in larger leaves, we compiled data on intraspecific variation in leaf dry mass (LM) and leaf surface area (LA) for 6334 leaves of 157 species. We used the power function LM=alpha LAbeta to test whether, within each species, large leaves deploy less surface area per unit dry mass than small leaves. Comparing scaling exponents (beta) showed that more species had a statistically significant decrease in SLA as leaf size increased (61) than the opposite (7) and the average beta was significantly greater than 1 (betamean=1.10, 95% CI 1.08-1.13). However, scaling exponents varied markedly from the few species that decreased to the many that increased SLA disproportionately fast as leaf size increased. This variation was unrelated to growth form, ecosystem of origin or climate. The average within-species tendency found here (allometric decrease of SLA with leaf size, averaging 13%) is in accord with concurrent findings on global-scale trends among species, although the substantial scatter around the central tendency suggests that the leaf size dependency does not obligately shape SLA. Nonetheless, the generally greater mass per unit leaf area of larger than smaller leaves directly translates into a greater cost to build and maintain a unit of leaf area, which, all else being equal, should constrain the maximum leaf size displayed.     

The scaling of body size and mass in a host-parasitoid association: influence of host species and stage

We describe the allometry of body mass and body size as measured by hind-tibia length in males of Monoctonus paulensis (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae), a solitary parasitoid of aphids. To assess the influence of host quality on allometric relationships, we reared parasitoids on second and fourth nymphal instars of four different aphid species, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Macrosiphum creelii Davis, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Sitobion avenae (F.), under controlled conditions in the laboratory. Dry mass was positively correlated with hind-tibia length, and could be predicted from it, in unparasitized aphids, in aphid mummies containing parasitoid pupae, and in the parasitoid. The reduced-major-axis scaling exponents for the regression of dry mass on hind-tibia length were species-specific in aphids, reflecting differences in volume and shape between species. In mummified aphids, the stage at death influenced the size/mass relationship. In males of M. paulensis, the allometric exponent varied between parasitoids developing in different kinds of host. Individuals developing in pea aphid were absolutely larger in dry mass as well as proportionately larger relative to their hind-tibia length. We discuss the allometry of body size and body mass in relation to parasitoid fitness.     

Differences in the 2nd to 4th digit length ratio in humans reflect shifts along the common allometric line

Ratios often lead to biased conclusions concerning the actual relationships between examined traits and comparisons of the relative size of traits among groups. Therefore, the use of ratios has been abandoned in most comparative studies. However, ratios such as body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio are widely used in evolutionary biology and medicine. One such, the ratio of the 2nd to the 4th finger (2D : 4D), has been the subject of much recent interest in both humans and animals. Most studies agree that 2D : 4D is sexually dimorphic. In men, the 2nd digit tends to be shorter than the 4th, while in women the 2nd digit tends to be of the same size or slightly longer than the 4th. Nevertheless, here we demonstrate that the sexes do not greatly differ in the scaling between the 2nd and 4th digit. Sexual differences in 2D : 4D are mainly caused by the shift along the common allometric line with non-zero intercept, which means 2D : 4D necessarily decreases with increasing finger length, and the fact that men have longer fingers than women. We conclude that previously published results on the 2D : 4D ratio are biased by its covariation with finger length. We strongly recommend regression-based approaches for comparisons of hand shape among different groups.     

The leaf size-twig size spectrum of temperate woody species along an altitudinal gradient: an invariant allometric scaling relationship

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The leaf size-twig size spectrum is one of the leading dimensions of plant ecological variation, and now it is under development. The purpose of this study was to test whether the relationship between leaf size and twig size is isometric or allometric, and to examine the relationship between plant allometric growth and life history strategies in the spectrum. METHODS: Leaf and stem characters-including leaf and stem mass, total leaf area, individual leaf area, stem cross-sectional area, leaf number and stem length-at the twig level for 59 woody species were investigated along an altitudinal gradient on Changbaishan Mountain in the temperate zone of China. The environmental gradient ranges from temperate broad-leaved mixed forest at low altitude, to conifer forest at middle altitude, and to sub-alpine birch forest at high altitude. The scaling relationships between stem cross-sectional area and stem mass, stem mass and leaf mass, and leaf mass and leaf area at the twig level were simultaneously determined. KEY RESULTS: Twig cross-sectional area was found to have invariant allometric scaling relationships with the stem mass, leaf mass, total leaf area and individual leaf area, all with common slopes being significantly larger than 1, for three altitudinal-zoned vegetation types under investigation. However, leaf mass was found to be isometrically related to stem mass and leaf area along the environmental gradient. Based on the predictions of previous models, the exponent value of the relationship between twig cross-sectional area and total leaf area can be inferred to be 1.5, which falls between the confidence intervals of the relationship at each altitude, and between the confidence intervals of the common slope value (1.17-1.56) of this study. This invariant scaling relationship is assumed to result from the fractural network and/or developmental constraints of plants. The allometric constants (y-intercepts) of the relationships between the stem cross-sectional area and leaf area (both total leaf area and individual leaf area) were found to decrease significantly along the altitudinal gradient. This suggests that the species would support less leaf area at a given twig cross-sectional area with increasing environmental stress. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that plants respond to the environmental gradient by changing the y-intercepts of the relationship between leaf size-twig size, while keeping the exponent value of the allometric relationship as an invariant constant. The allometric growth in the twig size-leaf size spectrum is related to many other components of plant life history strategy, including the well established life history trade-off between efficiency and safety in the hydraulic transport of water.     

Molar scaling in strepsirrhine primates

We examined how maxillary molar dimensions change with body and skull size estimates among 54 species of living and subfossil strepsirrhine primates. Strepsirrhine maxillary molar areas tend to scale with negative allometry, or possibly isometry, relative to body mass. This observation supports several previous scaling analyses showing that primate molar areas scale at or slightly below geometric similarity relative to body mass. Strepsirrhine molar areas do not change relative to body mass(0.75), as predicted by the metabolic scaling hypothesis. Relative to basicranial length, maxillary molar areas tend to scale with positive allometry. Previous claims that primate molar areas scale with positive allometry relative to body mass appear to rest on the incorrect assumption that skull dimensions scale isometrically with body mass. We identified specific factors that help us to better understand these observed scaling patterns. Lorisiform and lemuriform maxillary molar scaling patterns did not differ significantly, suggesting that the two infraorders had little independent influence on strepsirrhine scaling patterns. Contrary to many previous studies of primate dental allometry, we found little evidence for significant differences in molar area scaling patterns among frugivorous, folivorous, and insectivorous groups. We were able to distinguish folivorous species from frugivorous and insectivorous taxa by comparing M1 lengths and widths. Folivores tend to have a mesiodistally elongated M1 for a given buccolingual M1 width when compared to the other two dietary groups. It has recently been shown that brain mass has a strong influence on primate dental eruption rates. We extended this comparison to relative maxillary molar sizes, but found that brain mass appears to have little influence on the size of strepsirrhine molars. Alternatively, we observed a strong correlation between the relative size of the facial skull and relative molar areas among strepsirrhines. We hypothesize that this association may be underlain by a partial sharing of the patterning of development between molar and facial skull elements.     

Effects of metabolic level on the body size scaling of metabolic rate in birds and mammals

Metabolic rate is traditionally assumed to scale with body mass to the 3/4-power, but significant deviations from the '3/4-power law' have been observed for several different taxa of animals and plants, and for different physiological states. The recently proposed 'metabolic-level boundaries hypothesis' represents one of the attempts to explain this variation. It predicts that the power (log-log slope) of metabolic scaling relationships should vary between 2/3 and 1, in a systematic way with metabolic level. Here, this hypothesis is tested using data from birds and mammals. As predicted, in both of these independently evolved endothermic taxa, the scaling slope approaches 1 at the lowest and highest metabolic levels (as observed during torpor and strenuous exercise, respectively), whereas it is near 2/3 at intermediate resting and cold-induced metabolic levels. Remarkably, both taxa show similar, approximately U-shaped relationships between the scaling slope and the metabolic (activity) level. These predictable patterns strongly support the view that variation of the scaling slope is not merely noise obscuring the signal of a universal scaling law, but rather is the result of multiple physical constraints whose relative influence depends on the metabolic state of the organisms being analysed.     

Stand variation in Pinus radiata and its relationship with allometric scaling and critical buckling height

Background and Aims

Allometric relationships and the determination of critical buckling heights have been examined for Pinus radiata in the past. However, how they relate to more mature Pinus radiata exhibiting a wide range of stem diameters, slenderness and modulus of elasticity (E) at operationally used stand densities is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between Pinus radiata stand structure variables and allometric scaling and critical buckling height.

Methods

Utilizing a Pinus radiata Nelder trial with stand density and genetic breed as variables, critical buckling height was calculated whilst reduced major axis regression was used to determine scaling exponents between critical height (H_crit), actual height (H), ground line diameter (D), slenderness (S), density-specific stiffness (E/ρ) and modulus of elasticity (E).

Key Results

Critical buckling height was highly responsive to decreasing diameter and increasing slenderness. Safety factors in this study were typically considerably lower than previously reported margins in other species. As density-specific stiffness scaled negatively with diameter, the exponent of 0·55 between critical height and diameter did not meet the assumed value of 0·67 under constant density-specific stiffness. E scaled positively with stem slenderness to the power of 0·78.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that within species density-specific stiffness variation may influence critical height and the scaling exponent between critical height and diameter, which is considered so important in assumptions regarding allometric relationships.     

The origin of allometric scaling laws in biology

The empirical rules relating metabolic rate and body size are described in terms of (i) a scaling exponent, which refers to the ratio of the fractional change in metabolic rate to a change in body size, (ii) a proportionality constant, which describes the rate of energy expenditure in an organism of unit mass. This article integrates the chemiosmotic theory of energy transduction with the methods of quantum statistics to propose a molecular mechanism which, in sharp contrast to competing models, explains both the variation in scaling exponents and the taxon-specific differences in proportionality constants. The new model is universal in the sense that it applies to unicellular organisms, plants and animals.     

Ontogenic growth of the haemopoietic stem cell pool in humans

Recently, the size of the active stem cell pool has been predicted to scale allometrically with the adult mass of mammalian species with a 3/4 power exponent, similar to what has been found to occur for the resting metabolic rate across species. Here we investigate the allometric scaling of human haemopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during ontogenic growth and predict a linear scaling with body mass. We also investigate the allometric scaling of resting metabolic rate during growth in humans and find a linear scaling with mass similar to that of the haemopoietic stem cell pool. Our findings suggest a common underlying organizational principle determining the linear scaling of both the stem cell pool and resting metabolic rate with mass during ontogenic growth within the human species, combined with a 3/4 scaling with adult mass across mammalian species. It is possible that such common principles remain valid for haemopoiesis in other mammalian species.     

Dental scaling in the callitrichinae

Callitrichines share several morphological features that appear to be derived among anthropoid primates. One view maintains that some of them are the consequence of a rapid reduction in body size in the common ancestor of callitrichines. This hypothesis predicts that callitrichines should have relatively large teeth for their body size in comparison to other platyrrhines. Dental metric data from 18 platyrrhine species, including 4 callitrichines, is used to test this hypothesis. Callitrichine tooth size is compared both to empirical regressions of tooth size against body weight for noncallitrichine platyrrhines and to a prediction of geometric similarity. In neither comparison do callitrichines as a group show significantly greater tooth size than other platyrrhines. In fact, three of the four genera seem to have relatively small teeth for their body size. While this study fails to support the hypothesis that the common ancestor of callitrichines underwent a rapid reduction in body size, it neither proves nor disproves the hypothesis that they are smaller than their last common ancestor.