Allometric prediction of locomotor performance: An example from southeast Asian flying lizards

摘要

Allometric scaling analysis is the standard paradigm for studies attempting to unravel the consequences of evolutionary size change (Huxley 1932; Gould 1966; Schmidt-Nielsen 1984). Although the value of this approach is clear, prediction of the allometry of performance is often hamstrung by the complexity of biological systems. This complexity derives from the heterogeneous interaction of physiological and morphological variables that together determine maximal performance. Despite this complication, allometric analysis is widely employed primarily because understanding the consequences of size evolution is so important to our field. Not only does size influence virtually every aspect of an organism's biology (Calder 1984; Schmidt-Nielsen 1984), but it is also remarkably variable, even among closely related species.