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Fractional dynamics of allometry

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Abstract

Allometry relations (ARs) in physiology are nearly two hundred years old. In general if X ij is a measure of the size of the i th member of a complex host network from species j and Y ij is a property of a complex subnetwork embedded within the host network an intraspecies AR exists between the two when Y ij = aX b ij . We emphasize that the reductionist models of AR interpret X ij and Y ij as dynamic variables, albeit the ARs themselves are explicitly time independent. On the other hand, the phenomenological models of AR are based on the statistical analysis of data and interpret 〈X i 〉 and 〈Y i 〉 as averages over an ensemble of individuals to yields the interspecies AR 〈Y i 〉 = a〈X i 〉b. Modern explanations of AR begin with the application of fractal geometry and fractal statistics to scaling phenomena. The detailed application of fractal geometry to the explanation of intraspecies ARs is a little over a decade old and although well received it has not been universally accepted. An alternate perspective is given by the interspecies AR based on linear regression analysis of fluctuating data sets. We emphasize that the intraspecies and interspecies ARs are not the same and show that the interspecies AR can only be derived from the intraspecies one for a narrow distribution of fluctuations. This condition is not satisfied by metabolic data as is shown separately for aviary and mammal data sets. The empirical distribution of metabolic allometry coefficients is shown herein to be Pareto in form. A number of reductionist arguments conclude that the allometry exponent is universal, however herein we derive a deterministic relation between the allometry exponent and the allometry coefficient using the fractional calculus. The co-variation relation violates the universality assumption. We conclude that the interspecies physiologic AR is entailed by the scaling behavior of the probability density, which is derived using the fractional probability calculus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Information Sciences Directorate, US Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, 27709, USA

    Bruce J. West

  2. Physics Department, Renesselaer Polytechnique Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Damien West

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  1. Bruce J. West
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West, B.J., West, D. Fractional dynamics of allometry. fcaa 15, 70–96 (2012). https://doi.org/10.2478/s13540-012-0006-3

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