Books

Short works

Books : reviews

James H. Brown, Geoffrey B. West, eds.
Scaling in Biology.
OUP. 2000

Scaling relationships have been a persistent theme in biology at least since the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo. Because scaling relationships are among the most general empirical patterns in biology, they have stimulated research to develop mechanistic hypotheses and mathematical models. 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. Many more examples are included within this text to complete the broader picture.

Scaling in Biology conveys the diversity, promise, and excitement of current research in this area, in a format accessible to a wide audience of not only specialists in the various sub-disciplines, but also students and anyone with a serious interest in biology.

Contents

James H. Brown, Geoffrey B. West, Brian J. Enquist. Scaling in Biology: Patterns and Processes, Causes and Consequences. 2000
John Tyler Bonner, Henry S. Horn. Allometry and Natural Selection. 2000
R. McNeill Alexander. Hovering and Jumping: Contrasting Problems in Scaling. 2000
Andrew A. Biewener. Scaling of Terrestrial Support: Differing Solutions to Mechanical Constraints of Size. 2000
Mimi A. R. Koehl. Consequences of Size Change During Ontogeny and Evolution Consequences of Size Change During Ontogeny and Evolution. 2000
Geoffrey B. West, James H. Brown, Brian J. Enquist. The Origin of Universal Scaling Laws in Biology. 2000
John K-J. Li. Scaling and Invariants in Cardiovascular Biology. 2000
Mair Zamir. Vascular System of the Human Heart: Some Branching and Scaling Issues. 2000
Wolfgang Schreiner, Rudolf Karch, Friederike Neumann, Martin Neumann. Constrained Constructive Optimization of Arterial Tree Models. 2000
Brian J. Enquist, Geoffrey B. West, James H. Brown. Quarter-Power Allometric Scaling in Vascular Plants: Functional Basis and Ecological Consequences. 2000
Henry S. Horn. Twigs, Trees, and the Dynamics of Carbon in the Landscape. 2000
Richard E. Lenski, Judith A. Mongold. Cell Size, Shape, and Fitness in Evolving Populations of Bacteria. 2000
Jan Kozlowski. Does Body Size Optimization Alter the Allometries for Production and Life History Traits?. 2000
Paul H. Harvey. Why and How Phylogenetic Relationships Should be Incorporated into Studies of Scaling. 2000
Helene Cyr. Individual Energy Use and the Allometry of Population Density. 2000
William A. Calder. Diversity and Convergence: Scaling for Conservation. 2000
John Harte. Scaling and Self-Similarity in Species Distributions: Implications for Extinction, Species Richness, Abundance, and Range. 2000