The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharks
The ratio of surface area to volume is a key biological parameter that underpins our understanding of physiology across all levels of biological organization. Surfaces control the rate of key reactions and processes operating within the body and between organisms and their environment. Our understan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242205 |
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| author | Joel Harrison Gayford Duncan J. Irschick Johnson Martin Andrew Chin Jodie L. Rummer |
| author_facet | Joel Harrison Gayford Duncan J. Irschick Johnson Martin Andrew Chin Jodie L. Rummer |
| author_sort | Joel Harrison Gayford |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The ratio of surface area to volume is a key biological parameter that underpins our understanding of physiology across all levels of biological organization. Surfaces control the rate of key reactions and processes operating within the body and between organisms and their environment. Our understanding of surface area to volume ratios is embedded in the 2/3 scaling law, stating that surface area scales with volume raised to a power of 0.66. However, most empirical studies of surface area and volume scaling in animals focus on individual cells or tissues. Comparatively few studies have addressed these scaling relationships among species or ontogenetic stages at the whole-organism level. This study uncovers quantitative support for the 2/3 scaling law in an interspecific dataset at the whole-organism level. We find that the scaling of surface area to volume across 54 shark species (exhibiting an approx. 19 000-fold variation in body mass) is nearly identical to the isometric prediction of the 2/3 scaling law. There is no evidence that this relationship is driven by ecological or physiological characteristics. One plausible explanation is the presence of developmental constraints on tissue allocation that could influence the range of possible surface areas or volumes at any given body size. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-182a6776dd4a44c080f703a20fa4d9af |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-182a6776dd4a44c080f703a20fa4d9af2025-08-20T02:07:35ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-06-0112610.1098/rsos.242205The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharksJoel Harrison Gayford0Duncan J. Irschick1Johnson Martin2Andrew Chin3Jodie L. Rummer4Marine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, AustraliaDepartment of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USADepartment of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USAMarine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, AustraliaMarine Biology and Aquaculture, James Cook University, Townsville, AustraliaThe ratio of surface area to volume is a key biological parameter that underpins our understanding of physiology across all levels of biological organization. Surfaces control the rate of key reactions and processes operating within the body and between organisms and their environment. Our understanding of surface area to volume ratios is embedded in the 2/3 scaling law, stating that surface area scales with volume raised to a power of 0.66. However, most empirical studies of surface area and volume scaling in animals focus on individual cells or tissues. Comparatively few studies have addressed these scaling relationships among species or ontogenetic stages at the whole-organism level. This study uncovers quantitative support for the 2/3 scaling law in an interspecific dataset at the whole-organism level. We find that the scaling of surface area to volume across 54 shark species (exhibiting an approx. 19 000-fold variation in body mass) is nearly identical to the isometric prediction of the 2/3 scaling law. There is no evidence that this relationship is driven by ecological or physiological characteristics. One plausible explanation is the presence of developmental constraints on tissue allocation that could influence the range of possible surface areas or volumes at any given body size.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242205allometryconstraintElasmobranchiievolutiontissue allocationthree-dimensional imaging |
| spellingShingle | Joel Harrison Gayford Duncan J. Irschick Johnson Martin Andrew Chin Jodie L. Rummer The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharks Royal Society Open Science allometry constraint Elasmobranchii evolution tissue allocation three-dimensional imaging |
| title | The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharks |
| title_full | The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharks |
| title_fullStr | The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharks |
| title_full_unstemmed | The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharks |
| title_short | The geometry of life: testing the scaling of whole-organism surface area and volume using sharks |
| title_sort | geometry of life testing the scaling of whole organism surface area and volume using sharks |
| topic | allometry constraint Elasmobranchii evolution tissue allocation three-dimensional imaging |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.242205 |
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