Universal scaling of maximum speed with body mass - Why the largest animals are not the fastest

Hirt, M.; Jetz, W.; Rall, B. C.; Brose, U.

doi:10.1101/095018

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/095018

Universal scaling of maximum speed with body mass - Why the largest animals are not the fastest

Hirt, M.·Jetz, W.·Rall, B. C.·Brose, U.

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Abstract

Speed is the fundamental constraint on animal movement, yet there is no general consensus on the determinants of maximum speed itself. Here, we provide a universal scaling model of maximum speed with body mass, which holds across locomotion modes, ecosystem types and taxonomic groups. In contrast to traditional power-law scaling, we predict a hump-shaped relationship due to a finite acceleration time for animals. This model is strongly supported by extensive empirical data (470 species with body masses ranging from 5.7x10-8 to 108,000 kg) from terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystems. Our approach offers a novel concept of what determines the upper limit of animal movement, thus enabling a better understanding of realized movement patterns in nature and their multifold ecological consequences.

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Hirt, M., Jetz, W., Rall, B. C., Brose, U.. 2016-12-17. Universal scaling of maximum speed with body mass - Why the largest animals are not the fastest. https://doi.org/10.1101/095018

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