19th Annual Student Research Conference
Mathematics and Computer Science
Allometry and the Fourth Dimension of Life
Jamie C. Bloomfield
Dr. Phil Ryan, Faculty Mentor
Animals vary in scale; as an animal gets larger, relationships between body characteristics such as surface area, volume, heart rate, metabolism, and blood volume vary. In 1932, Max Kleiber published “Body Size and Metabolism,” finding the relationship between body mass and metabolic rate for animals. He found that there was an allometric relationship with a regression slope of 3/4 instead of the expected 2/3, which would indicate a surface area- volume relationship. This relationship has gotten a lot of attention and is the focus of my research. After giving some background information on scaling and allometric relationships, I will go into detail about a theory entitled "The Fourth Dimension of Life" and various mathematical models for an explanation as to why the regression slope is 3/4.
Keywords: allometric, allometry, mass, metabolic rate
Topic(s):Mathematical Biology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 39-2
Location: OP 2111
Time: 1:30