On the relation between basal and maximum metabolic rate in mammals.
Basal and maximum metabolic rates, measured by oxygen consumption, for 18 species of wild mammals have been obtained from a search of literature records. The mass exponent of the allometric regression equation for maximum metabolic rate is significantly higher than that for BMR (0.841 and 0.745, respectively; P less than 0.05) in the group of animals examined. No significant correlation between mass-independent basal and maximum metabolic rates has been found. These results do not support the 'aerobic capacity' model of the origin of endothermy.
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption