Ecologists say metabolism accounts for why natural selection favors only some species

November 04, 2008

UCR-led study offers an explanation for life's organization

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Why are some species of plants and animals favored by natural selection? And why does natural selection not favor other species similarly?

According to a UC Riverside-led research team, the answer lies in the rate of metabolism of a species - how fast a species consumes energy, per unit mass, per unit time.

The researchers studied 3006 species, the largest number of species ever analyzed in a single study. The species list encompasses much of the range of biological diversity on Earth - from bacteria to elephants, and algae to sapling trees.

To the researchers' surprise, they found the mean metabolic rate of the species at rest fell on a narrow range of values - 0.3 to 9 Watts per kilogram.

"This narrow range is in dramatic contrast to the 20 orders of magnitude difference in the body mass of the species we studied," said Bai-Lian Li, a professor of ecology at UC Riverside, who led the study along with two colleagues. "At physiological rest, the biosphere appears to run, on average, predominantly at the optimal rate defined by this narrow range of values. This remarkable phenomenon is likely associated with the pervasive biochemical universality of living matter, and could provide us with clues to understanding how life is organized."

Study results appear in the Nov. 4 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

According to Li, the metabolic optimum explains the ubiquitous and seemingly unrelated features of life organization we see all around us - complex adaptations such as animal breathing and flat, green leaves.

"Organisms whose designs fit the physiological window have been favored by natural selection across all of life's major kingdoms," he said. "This observed, narrow range might therefore be considered as the preferred, optimal range for the functioning of living matter as a whole."

Unlike the genetic code and protein composition, metabolic rate cannot be inherited from a common ancestor. Rather, a particular range of metabolic rates is maintained by natural selection.

"Species had to invent diverse tricks to remain near the metabolic optimum, from which the progressive evolutionary increase in body size - from prokaryotes to largest vertebrates and plants - was continually taking them away," Li said.

He was joined in the study by co-leaders Anastassia M. Makarieva and Victor G. Gorshkov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. Their co-authors on the research paper are Steven L. Chown of Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Peter B. Reich of the University of Minnesota, St. Paul; and Valery M. Gavrilov of Moscow State University, Russia.

University of California - Riverside

---

---

	Natural Selection by Dave Freedman (Author) A team of marine scientists is on the verge of making the most stunning discovery in the history of man: a previously unknown predatory species, alive now, evolving just like the dinosaurs—and being forced out of its world and into man's for a violent first encounter. In their quest for answers, they engage a host of fascinating characters—experts in neurology and deep sea geology, flight-simulation wizards, and evolution historians—and set off together to exotic locales, experiencing love, friendship, loyalty, and betrayal along the way. When people start dying, the real hunt begins. Weaving science and thriller in a way not seen since Jurassic Park, Natural Selection is that rare blend of intricately layered research, rich characters, and tornado...
	Battletech 05: Natural Selection (Bk. 5) by Michael A. Stackpole (Author) When sporadic Clan incursions into Inner Sphere territory supply mercenaries with more work than they can handle, Khan Phelan Ward and Prince Victor Davion--cousins, rulers, and enemies--must decide what to do.
	Adaptation and Natural Selection by George Christopher Williams (Author) Biological evolution is a fact--but the many conflicting theories of evolution remain controversial even today. In 1966, simple Darwinism, which holds that evolution functions primarily at the level of the individual organism, was threatened by opposing concepts such as group selection, a popular idea stating that evolution acts to select entire species rather than individuals. George Williams's famous argument in favor of the Darwinists struck a powerful blow to those in opposing camps. His Adaptation and Natural Selection, now a classic of science literature, is a thorough and convincing essay in defense of Darwinism; its suggestions for developing effective principles for dealing with the evolution debate and its relevance to many fields outside biology ensure the timelessness of this...
	Natural Selection (Forces of Nature) by 4 Corners Press What do you do when you find out your family isn't your family, death is knocking at your door, and that guy you can't stop thinking about knows more about who you are than you do? Amelia Hoffman was just a normal 15 year old until she found out the truth. Now ancient myths, supernatural beings, and murder have changed everything. Tests and school dances are no longer the biggest worry in her life-- she has to figure out how to save everyone she loves and accept the future in front of her before its too late. *** DECEMBER 12 – 24 ONLY *** The first ever INDIE BOOK BLOWOUT – To celebrate this exciting event, I’ve reduced the price on my book to only 99¢! MAKE THIS YOUR Merriest Christmas ever! To score dozens of FANTASTIC...
	On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Public Domain Books This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
	On Natural Selection (Penguin Great Ideas) by Charles Darwin (Author) Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives—and destroyed them. Now, Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are. Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers, and each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-drive design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great...
	Natural Selections: Selfish Altruists, Honest Liars, and Other Realities of Evolution by David P. Barash (Author) “Barash . . . brilliantly integrat[es] science, literature, and pop culture into elegant and insightful commentaries on the most interesting and important questions of our time. A delightful read.”—Michael Shermer, author of The Science of Good and Evil “Entertaining and thought-provoking.”—Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate If we are, in part, a product of our genes, can free will exist? Incisive and engaging, this indispensable tour of evolutionary biology runs the gamut of contemporary debates, from science and religion to our place in the universe. David Barash is the author of The Myth of Monogamy and Madame Bovary’s Ovaries. He lives in Redmond, Washington.
	On the Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection (Dover Thrift Editions) by Charles Darwin (Author) Published amid a firestorm of controversy in 1859, this is a book that changed the world. Reasoned and well-documented in its arguments, it offers coherent views of natural selection, adaptation, the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest, and other concepts that form the foundation of evolutionary theory.
	Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection by Peter Godfrey-Smith (Author) In 1859 Darwin described a deceptively simple mechanism that he called "natural selection," a combination of variation, inheritance, and reproductive success. He argued that this mechanism was the key to explaining the most puzzling features of the natural world, and science and philosophy were changed forever as a result. The exact nature of the Darwinian process has been controversial ever since, however. Godfrey-Smith draws on new developments in biology, philosophy of science, and other fields to give a new analysis and extension of Darwin's idea. The central concept used is that of a "Darwinian population," a collection of things with the capacity to undergo change by natural selection. From this starting point, new analyses of the role of genes in evolution, the application of...
	Natural History: A Selection (Penguin Classics) by Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder) (Author), John F. Healey (Introduction) Pliny’s Natural History is an astonishingly ambitious work that ranges from astronomy to art and from geography to zoology. Mingling acute observation with often wild speculation, it offers a fascinating view of the world as it was understood in the first century AD, whether describing the danger of diving for sponges, the first water-clock, or the use of asses’ milk to remove wrinkles. Pliny himself died while investigating the volcanic eruption that destroyed Pompeii in AD 79, and the natural curiosity that brought about his death is also very much evident in the Natural History — a book that proved highly influential right up until the Renaissance and that his nephew, Pliny the younger, described ‘as full of variety as nature itself’. John F. Healy has made a fascinating and...