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The DOI matches its Crossref record; 4 of the 4 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

A general basis for quarter-power scaling in animals

Open access
Banavar, Jayanth R., Moses, Melanie E., Brown, James H., Damuth, John, Rinaldo, Andrea, Sibly, Richard M., Maritan, Amos·2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

It has been known for decades that the metabolic rate of animals scales with body mass with an exponent that is almost always <1, >2/3, and often very close to 3/4. The 3/4 exponent emerges naturally from two models of resource distribution networks, radial explosion and hierarchically branched, which incorporate a minimum of specific details. Both models show that the exponent is 2/3 if velocity of flow remains constant, but can attain a maximum value of 3/4 if velocity scales with its maximum exponent, 1/12. Quarter-power scaling can arise even when there is no underlying fractality. The canonical “fourth dimension” in biological scaling relations can result from matching the velocity of flow through the network to the linear dimension of the terminal “service volume” where resources are consumed. These models have broad applicability for the optimal design of biological and engineered systems where energy, materials, or information are distributed from a single source.

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Metadata

Authors
Banavar, J. R., Moses, M. E., Brown, J. H., Damuth, J., Rinaldo, A., Sibly, R. M., & Maritan, A.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2010-08-19
Volume
107
Issue
36
Pages
15816-15820
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2142366069
Cited by
212
References
4
FWCI
15.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: A general basis for quarter-power scaling in animals. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1073/pnas.1009974107
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Banavar, J. R., Moses, M. E., Brown, J. H., Damuth, J., Rinaldo, A., Sibly, R. M., & Maritan, A. (2010). A general basis for quarter-power scaling in animals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1009974107

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