Responses of intraspecific metabolic scaling to temperature and activity differ between water- and air-breathing ectothermic vertebrates.

García-Gómez, Guillermo ORCID: 0000-0001-6003-0832, Hirst, Andrew G, Spencer, Matthew ORCID: 0000-0001-5033-5288 and Atkinson, David (2024) Responses of intraspecific metabolic scaling to temperature and activity differ between water- and air-breathing ectothermic vertebrates. Ecology letters, 27 (2). e14389-.

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Abstract

Metabolism underpins all life-sustaining processes and varies profoundly with body size, temperature and locomotor activity. A current theory explains some of the size-dependence of metabolic rate (its mass exponent, b) through changes in metabolic level (L). We propose two predictive advances that: (a) combine the above theory with the evolved avoidance of oxygen limitation in water-breathers experiencing warming, and (b) quantify the overall magnitude of combined temperatures and degrees of locomotion on metabolic scaling across air- and water-breathers. We use intraspecific metabolic scaling responses to temperature (523 regressions) and activity (281 regressions) in diverse ectothermic vertebrates (fish, reptiles and amphibians) to show that b decreases with temperature-increased L in water-breathers, supporting surface area-related avoidance of oxygen limitation, whereas b increases with activity-increased L in air-breathers, following volume-related influences. This new theoretical integration quantitatively incorporates different influences (warming, locomotion) and respiration modes (aquatic, terrestrial) on animal energetics.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Animals, Vertebrates, Fishes, Oxygen, Body Size, Temperature
Divisions:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	23 Feb 2024 14:48
Last Modified:	02 Mar 2024 02:48
DOI:	10.1111/ele.14389
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3178847