Description
Book SynopsisThis book is about the importance of animal size. We tend to think of animal function in chemical terms and talk of water, salts, proteins, enzymes, oxygen, energy, and so on. We should not forget, however, that physical laws are equally important, for they determine rates of diffusion and heat transfer, transfer of force and momentum, the strength of structures, the dynamics of locomotion, and other aspects of the functioning of animal bodies. Physical laws provide possibilities and opportunities for an organism, yet they also impose constraints, setting limits to what is physically possible. This book aims to give an understanding of these rules because of their profound implications when we deal with animals of widely different size and scale. The reader will find that the book raises many questions. Remarkable and puzzling information makes it read a little like a detective story, but the last chapter, instead of giving the final solution, neither answers all questions nor provides
Trade Review"...a must for teachers who like to add thought-provoking material to lectures or class discussions." The Science Teacher
Table of ContentsPreface; 1. The size of living things; 2. Problems of size and scale; 3. The use of allometry; 4. How to scale eggs; 5. The strength of bones and skeletons; 6. Metabolic rate and body size; 7. Warm-blooded vertebrates: what do metabolic regression equations mean?; 8. Organ size and tissue metabolism; 9. How the lungs supply enough oxygen; 10. Blood and gas transport; 11. Heart and circulation; 12. The meaning of time; 13. Animal activity and metabolic scope; 14. Moving on land: running and jumping; 15. Swimmng and flying; 16. Body temperature and temperature regulation; 17. Some important concepts; Appendixes; References; Index.
