Abstract
We present data and analyses demonstrating that large species utilize a disproportionately large share of the resources within local ecosystems. Even though small species tend to have higher local population densities, these are not sufficient to compensate for their lower rates of energy use per individual. The relationship is very general; holding for example for birds, mammals, fish and plants. We suggest that several ecological advantages enable larger species and larger individuals within species to monopolize resources, and that the resulting selection pressures are responsible for the evolutionary trend towards increasing body size seen in many phyletic lineages. Our results contradict important studies1–4 that have concluded that species of small body size use at least as large a proportion of the resources within ecosystems as their larger relatives.
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Brown, J., Maurer, B. Body size, ecological dominance and Cope's rule. Nature 324, 248–250 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/324248a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/324248a0
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