Scaling in Biology (Sante Fe Institute Studies on the Sciences of Complexity)

Book Overview

Scaling relationships have been a persistent theme in biology at least since the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo. While there have been many excellent empirical and theoretical investigations, there has been little attempt to synthesize this diverse but interrelated area of biology. In an effort to fill this void, Scaling in Biology, the first general treatment of scaling in biology in over 15 years, covers a broad spectrum of the most relevant topics in a series of chapters written by experts in the field. Some of those topics discussed include allometry and fractal structure, branching of vascular systems of mammals and plants, biomechanical and life history of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, and species-area patterns of biological diversity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195131428
• ISBN13: 9780195131420
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A complete classic

... put together by the guys figured out the 3/4 scaling laws. Unfortunately, biology has has an extremely difficult time coming up with much of any equivalents to "laws of physics." Scaling laws are one of the few notable exception, both holding in excellent agreement over many orders of magnitude (from the whale to the shrew), and resting on a sound theoretical basis. And of course, there's more in here than the 3/4 power law, a la Santa Fe Institute style.

A Long Overdue Book on a Critical Subject in Biology

This book is long overdue! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in issues of allometry (how characteristics of organisms change with their size), scaling, and how attributes of organisms influence larger scale patterns in ecology and evolution. Scaling is probably the most important problem facing biology and this book is a fabulous launching point to a series of new approaches. The book presents several chapters by several of the leaders in the field - and range from vascular morphology of mammals, physiology, plant physiology and ecology, biomechanics, life-history, ecology and evolutionary biology, and even conservation biology. The long introductory chapter provides a nice introduction, history, and overview of the growing field. Probably the best attribute of the book is the underlying synthesis of biology. Those interested in building linkages between organismal biology, physiology, community ecology, ecology, large scale ecology, or evolutionary biology need to read this book.