Scaling : Why Is Animal Size so Important?

Rating:
Summary: Good (Complete), But a Little Short on Mechanisms
Review: Scaling covers both the various ways in which the size & shape of animals change, as well as the reasons or rationals behind such scaling laws. The book does a great job of presenting the data in an understandable format (and a lot of data as well!), but there were times I felt a little confused as to the physical reasons behind these scalings (perhaps because not all the details are known). For the most part however the explainations were clear, and for the statistics of scaling in the animals world I can think of no comparable text. Some of the subjects are scaling of eggs, running & jumping, & bone strength, but the most detailed sections (one of the strengths of the book) deal with the metabolism of animals; why a man's heart must beat faster than an elephants and slower than a hummingbirds, for instance. It's not a light read, and if all you want is physiology try his other book "Animal Physiology" (textbook) or Vogel's "Life's Devices" (more of a popular press book, but suitable as a teaching text).

Rating:
Summary: Good (Complete), But a Little Short on Mechanisms
Review: Scaling covers both the various ways in which the size & shape of animals change, as well as the reasons or rationals behind such scaling laws. The book does a great job of presenting the data in an understandable format (and a lot of data as well!), but there were times I felt a little confused as to the physical reasons behind these scalings (perhaps because not all the details are known). For the most part however the explainations were clear, and for the statistics of scaling in the animals world I can think of no comparable text. Some of the subjects are scaling of eggs, running & jumping, & bone strength, but the most detailed sections (one of the strengths of the book) deal with the metabolism of animals; why a man's heart must beat faster than an elephants and slower than a hummingbirds, for instance. It's not a light read, and if all you want is physiology try his other book "Animal Physiology" (textbook) or Vogel's "Life's Devices" (more of a popular press book, but suitable as a teaching text).

Rating:
Summary: Oriented toward physiology
Review: Schmidt-Nielsen's "Scaling: why is animal size so important" is a readable introduction to the influence of size on physiology (and vice versa). As noted in a previous review, the chapter describing structural engineering is relatively weak, but the chapters discussing allometric concepts, metabolism, thermoregulation, and physiological time are excellent. Other chapters address respiration and circulation.

Unfortunately, Schmidt-Nielsen glosses over the ecological ramifications of the physiological mechanisms described in this book. For the ecologically oriented, I recommend Calder's "Size, function, and life history."

All in all, an eye-opener and a heck of a lot more fun to read than most technical works.

Rating:
Summary: Oriented toward physiology
Review: Schmidt-Nielsen's "Scaling: why is animal size so important" is a readable introduction to the influence of size on physiology (and vice versa). As noted in a previous review, the chapter describing structural engineering is relatively weak, but the chapters discussing allometric concepts, metabolism, thermoregulation, and physiological time are excellent. Other chapters address respiration and circulation.

Unfortunately, Schmidt-Nielsen glosses over the ecological ramifications of the physiological mechanisms described in this book. For the ecologically oriented, I recommend Calder's "Size, function, and life history."

All in all, an eye-opener and a heck of a lot more fun to read than most technical works.