Klaiber’s law (metabolic law 3/4) is a biochemical rule that relates the rate of basal metabolism and body mass. The law was formulated by Swiss scientist Max Kleiber on the basis of observations made in the early 1930s.
Klaiber noted that for the vast majority of animals, the rate of basic metabolism (the minimum amount of energy spent by the body to maintain vital activity at rest) is proportional to the mass of their body to a degree of 3/4:
Where - the main exchange of the animal, and - mass of the animal.
Thus, if the cat’s mass is 100 times the mass of the mouse, the cat’s main metabolism is only 32 times that of the mouse.
See also
- Model Trays - Volterra
Bibliography
- Max Kleiber. Body size and metabolism (neopr.) // Hilgardia. - 1932.- T. 6 . - S. 315-351 .