Metabolism: the basics

You should understand the various ways (direct, indirect) to measure aerobic metabolic rate. Moreover, you should understand the rationale for being able to convert data on oxygen consumption (or CO2 production) to joules or watts. [You may find it helpful to refer to the equation for the oxidation of glucose.]

Why is CO2 production a less accurate measure (in general) of metabolic rate than is O2 consumption?

Why is knowledge of the metabolic fuel of an animal useful to someone measuring O2 consumption as an index of metabolic rate?

What is the specific dynamic effect and what (physiological activities) is thought to cause this effect?

What is the difference between a base unit and a derived unit in the SI system?

What is the difference between BMR and SMR?

Metabolism: relationship to body size

Be able to draw a graph of metabolic rate vs. body mass for endotherms and for ectotherms. What is the average exponent for metabolic scaling? What are some of the ecological consequences of those relationships (i.e., for endotherms vs. ectotherms, or for large vs. small animals)?

Understand the basic principle behind doubly labeled water as a measure of metabolic rates of free-ranging animals? How do resting and field metabolic rates compare and why are they so much higher in nature? What are some of the physiological and ecological implications of these differences?

How does metabolic scaling differ for intraspecific vs. interspecific comparisons?

What are some of the physiological or anatomical correlates of high "mass-specific" metabolic rates for small animals? What are the physiological reasons for those correlates (e.g., why functionally is capillary density greater in small animals)?

What is the "surface law" explanation of metabolic scaling and why is it inadequate?

What evidence exists that resting metabolic rate varies evolutionarily? In other words, describe some examples showing that resting rates are different in species living in different environments.

What is the influence of the thyroid on metabolism and on physiology, and how might the thyroid have been involved in the evolution of endothermy?

Why is the sodium pump important in accounting for differences in heat production of cells of endotherms vs. ectotherms?

Metabolism miscellaneous:

Why is the concept of "one" mass-specific metabolic rate for an organism physiologically naive? (in other words, do all tissues have the same metabolic rates per gram of tissue?)

What are some of the physiological or anatomical correlates of high metabolic rates of endotherms?

What are the basic ecological and physiological advantages and disadvantages of endothermy versus ectothermy?

What are the two basic reasons that might have favored the evolution of endothermy from ectothermy?

Allometry:

You should understand the basics of allometry (see the primer). In particular, you should be familiar with allometric equations and graphs. For example, you should be able to draw (without a calculator or computer) the general shapes of curves for a given equation (either on arithmetic or log.log scales). Examples:

Y = 3 M .74 Y = 3 M -.25 Y = 3 M 1

Conversely, you should be able to go from graphs to equations (roughly, of course). Thus, if you were shown a graph of metabolic rate vs. body mass for two different taxa of animals, you should be able to state whether the exponents are parallel and positive and which taxon has the higher "a" value.

If you are given an equation for the allometry of some whole-animal rate, you should be able to write down the equation for a mass-specific rate.

Be familiar with the concept of "residual" analyses and be able to explain (preferably with an equation) why mass-specific metabolic rates do not "correct" for body mass.