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Cited by 2,677Physiological and biochemical adaptationsEvolution and Paleontology StudiesComparative Animal Anatomy Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record.

Scaling: Why is Animal Size so Important?

Schmidt-Nielsen, Knut·1984·Cambridge University Press eBooks
DOI 10.1017/cbo9781139167826
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Abstract

This 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 one great unifying principle.

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Crossref · 10.1017/cbo9781139167826

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Metadata

Authors
Schmidt-Nielsen, K.
Venue
Cambridge University Press eBooks
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Published
1984-07-27
DOI
10.1017/cbo9781139167826
OpenAlex
W4239578492
Cited by
2,677
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 62 · 2025: 79 · 2024: 92 · 2023: 107 · 2022: 95 · 2021: 91 · 2020: 85 · 2019: 105 · 2018: 98 · 2017: 84 · 2016: 101 · 2015: 83 · 2014: 93 · 2013: 77 · 2012: 91
FWCI
30.96
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 10175 d)
Locations
Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anatomy › Comparative Animal Anatomy Studies
Keywords
animal size, allometry, diffusion, heat transfer, structural strength, locomotion, scaling laws, animal physiology

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