CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 650Physiological and biochemical adaptationsCardiovascular and exercise physiologyEvolution and Paleontology Studies

Energetics and mechanics of terrestrial locomotion. I. Metabolic energy consumption as a function of speed and body size in birds and mammals

Taylor, C. R., Heglund, N. C., Maloiy, G. M. O.·1982·Journal of Experimental Biology
DOI 10.1242/jeb.97.1.1
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

This series of four papers investigates the link between the energetics and the mechanics of terrestrial locomotion. Two experimental variables are used throughout the study : speed and body size. Mass-specific metabolic rates of running animals can be varied by about tenfold using either variable. This first paper considers metabolic energy consumed during terrestrial locomotion. New data relating rate of oxygen consumption and speed are reported for: eight species of wild and domestic artiodactyls; seven species of carnivores ; four species of primates ; and one species of rodent. These are combined with previously published data to formulate a new allometric equation relating mass-specific rates of oxygen consumed during locomotion at a constant speed to speed and body mass (based on data from 62 avian and mammalian species): where has the units ml O2 s−1 kg−1; Mb is in kg; and vg is in m s−1. This equation can be expressed in terms of mass-specific rates of energy consumption (Ėmetab/Mb) using the energetic equivalent of 1 ml O2 = 20·1 J because the contribution of anaerobic glycolysis was negligible : where Ėmetab/Mb has the units watts/kg. This new relationship applies equally well to bipeds and quadrupeds and differs little from the allometric equation reported 12 years ago by Taylor, Schmid-Nielsen & Raab (1970). Ninety per cent of the values calculated from this general equation for the diverse assortment of avian and mammalian species included in this regression fall within 25 % of the observed values at the middle of the speed range where measurements were made. This agreement is impressive when one considers that mass-specific rates of oxygen consumption differed by more than 1400% over this size range of animals.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1242/jeb.97.1.1

Cites

37 of 37 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The curvilinear relationship between metabolic power consumption (Pmet) and speed (U) during walking in peacocks is also seen in other animals including some species of large bird, but deviates from the more common linear relationship found in many species.

    “the relationship between metabolic power consumption (Pmet) and speed (U) for walking during both experimental periods was curvilinear, which is also seen in other animals including some species of large bird”

    From The peacock train does not handicap cursorial locomotor performance (2016) · cites this paper as [39]

  • RERs were monitored for all trials to ensure that the birds were locomoting aerobically.

    “RER’s were monitored for all trials to ensure that the birds were locomoting aerobically39.”

    From The peacock train does not handicap cursorial locomotor performance (2016) · cites this paper as [39]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Taylor, C. R., Heglund, N. C., & Maloiy, G. M. O.
Affiliations
University of Nairobi (KE)
Venue
Journal of Experimental Biology
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Published
1982-04-01
Volume
97
Issue
1
Pages
1-21
ISSN
  • 0022-0949 (ISSN-L)
  • 1477-9145
DOI
10.1242/jeb.97.1.1
OpenAlex
W1948368313
Cited by
650
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 19
FWCI
15.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.biologists.com/user-licence-1-1/ (vor)
Locations
  • Journal of Experimental Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
Keywords
terrestrial locomotion, metabolic cost, oxygen consumption, allometric scaling, body size, running speed, birds, mammals, Artiodactyla, carnivores, primates, rodents, energy cost of locomotion
MeSH terms
Animals, Biomechanical Phenomena, Birds, Body Constitution, Energy Metabolism, Locomotion, Mammals, Mathematics, Oxygen Consumption, Species Specificity

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review