Characteristic sizes of life in the oceans, from bacteria to whales

Ken Haste Andersen; Terje Berge; Rodrigo Gonçalves; Martin Hartvig; Jan Heuschele; Samuel Hylander; Nis Sand Jacobsen; Christian Lindemann; Erik Andreas Martens; Anna Beatrice Neuheimer; Karin Olsson; Artur Palacz; A. E. F. Prowe; Julie Saintmont; Sachia Jo Traving; A. W. Visser; Navish Wadhwa; Thomas Kiørboe

doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-122414-034144

Characteristic sizes of life in the oceans, from bacteria to whales

Ken Haste Andersen, Terje Berge, Rodrigo Gonçalves, Martin Hartvig, Jan Heuschele, Samuel Hylander, Nis Sand Jacobsen, Christian Lindemann, Erik Andreas Martens, Anna Beatrice Neuheimer, Karin Olsson, Artur Palacz, A. E. F. Prowe, Julie Saintmont, Sachia Jo Traving, A. W. Visser, Navish Wadhwa, Thomas Kiørboe

87 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The size of an individual organism is a key trait to characterize its physiology and feeding ecology. Size-based scaling laws may have a limited size range of validity or undergo a transition from one scaling exponent to another at some characteristic size. We collate and review data on size-based scaling laws for resource acquisition, mobility, sensory range, and progeny size for all pelagic marine life, from bacteria to whales. Further, we review and develop simple theoretical arguments for observed scaling laws and the characteristic sizes of a change or breakdown of power laws. We divide life in the ocean into seven major realms based on trophic strategy, physiology, and life history strategy. Such a categorization represents a move away from a taxonomically oriented description toward a trait-based description of life in the oceans. Finally, we discuss life forms that transgress the simple size-based rules and identify unanswered questions.

Original language	English
Journal	Annual Review of Marine Science
Volume	8
Issue number	3
Pages (from-to)	217-241
Number of pages	25
ISSN	1941-1405
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-122414-034144
Publication status	Published - 3 Jan 2016

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Andersen, K. H., Berge, T., Gonçalves, R., Hartvig, M., Heuschele, J., Hylander, S., Jacobsen, N. S., Lindemann, C., Martens, E. A., Neuheimer, A. B., Olsson, K., Palacz, A., Prowe, A. E. F., Saintmont, J., Traving, S. J., Visser, A. W., Wadhwa, N., & Kiørboe, T. (2016). Characteristic sizes of life in the oceans, from bacteria to whales. Annual Review of Marine Science, 8(3), 217-241. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-122414-034144

Andersen, KH, Berge, T, Gonçalves, R, Hartvig, M, Heuschele, J, Hylander, S, Jacobsen, NS, Lindemann, C, Martens, EA, Neuheimer, AB, Olsson, K, Palacz, A, Prowe, AEF, Saintmont, J, Traving, SJ, Visser, AW, Wadhwa, N & Kiørboe, T 2016, 'Characteristic sizes of life in the oceans, from bacteria to whales', Annual Review of Marine Science, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 217-241. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-122414-034144

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abstract = "The size of an individual organism is a key trait to characterize its physiology and feeding ecology. Size-based scaling laws may have a limited size range of validity or undergo a transition from one scaling exponent to another at some characteristic size. We collate and review data on size-based scaling laws for resource acquisition, mobility, sensory range, and progeny size for all pelagic marine life, from bacteria to whales. Further, we review and develop simple theoretical arguments for observed scaling laws and the characteristic sizes of a change or breakdown of power laws. We divide life in the ocean into seven major realms based on trophic strategy, physiology, and life history strategy. Such a categorization represents a move away from a taxonomically oriented description toward a trait-based description of life in the oceans. Finally, we discuss life forms that transgress the simple size-based rules and identify unanswered questions. ",

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AU - Andersen, Ken Haste

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AU - Hylander, Samuel

AU - Jacobsen, Nis Sand

AU - Lindemann, Christian

AU - Martens, Erik Andreas

AU - Neuheimer, Anna Beatrice

AU - Olsson, Karin

AU - Palacz, Artur

AU - Prowe, A. E. F.

AU - Saintmont, Julie

AU - Traving, Sachia Jo

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AB - The size of an individual organism is a key trait to characterize its physiology and feeding ecology. Size-based scaling laws may have a limited size range of validity or undergo a transition from one scaling exponent to another at some characteristic size. We collate and review data on size-based scaling laws for resource acquisition, mobility, sensory range, and progeny size for all pelagic marine life, from bacteria to whales. Further, we review and develop simple theoretical arguments for observed scaling laws and the characteristic sizes of a change or breakdown of power laws. We divide life in the ocean into seven major realms based on trophic strategy, physiology, and life history strategy. Such a categorization represents a move away from a taxonomically oriented description toward a trait-based description of life in the oceans. Finally, we discuss life forms that transgress the simple size-based rules and identify unanswered questions.

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JO - Annual Review of Marine Science

JF - Annual Review of Marine Science

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Characteristic sizes of life in the oceans, from bacteria to whales

Abstract

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