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Relationship among body mass, metabolic rate and the intrinsic rate of natural increase in mammals

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Summary

The intrinsic rate of natural increase, rm, was calculated for 44 mammalian species using the Cole (1954) equation and life history data from the literature. Values of r m so calculated were plotted as log10 r m versus log10 body mass revealing a linear relationship with a slope of-0.2622. The equation of the regression line fitting these data was then used to correct r m for body mass so that interspecific comparisons with respect to r m and basal metabolic rate could be made to determine if a positive relationship exists between these two parameters. Basal metabolic rate correlates positively with r m, and apparently is one of many factors operating in the evolution of r m. Implications of these conclusions with respect to food habits, resource limitations, and the possible existence of a trade-off between maintenance and reproduction in certain environments is discussed.

If one assumes that all mammals face environmental limits on the amount of energy available for maintenance, growth, and reproduction, it follows that any reduction in maintenance costs should provide more energy for growth and/or reproduction. The proposed existence of such a trade-off between maintenance and reproduction was a major premise upon which MacArthur and Wilson (1967) based their concept of “r- and K-selection”. Recently, however, McNab (1980) has suggested that for mammals that reproduce when food is not limiting, an increase in one maintenace cost, i.e. basal metabolic rate, may not detract from but may actually increase the intrinsic rate of natural increase, r m. Although this idea may seem counterintuitive, if one assumes an unlimited amount of energy, the factor limiting growth and reproduction will be the rate at which the energy can be used; a higher metabolic rate will mean a higher rate of biosynthesis, a faster growth rate, s shorter generation time, and hence a higher r m. Since some animal species appear not to be food-limited during their reproductive seasons (Armitage and Downhower 1974; Millar 1977; Rabenold 1979), natural selection may favor maximization of metabolic rate as a means of maximizing r m in these species. If these hypotheses concerning the correlation between basal metabolic rate and r m are correct, a comparison of mammalian species with respect to basal metabolic rate and r m should reveal a positive relationship between these two parameters.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Willard W. Hennemann III

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Hennemann, W.W. Relationship among body mass, metabolic rate and the intrinsic rate of natural increase in mammals. Oecologia 56, 104–108 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378224

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