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Ch. 40 - Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function
Campbell - Campbell Biology 11th Edition
Urry11th EditionCampbell BiologyISBN: 9789357423311Not the one you use?Change textbook
All textbooksUrry 11th EditionCh. 40 - Basic Principles of Animal Form and FunctionProblem 3
Chapter 40, Problem 3

Consider the energy budgets for a human, an elephant, a penguin, a mouse, and a snake. The would have the highest total annual energy expenditure, and the would have the highest energy expenditure per unit mass.
a. Elephant; mouse
b. Elephant; human
c. Mouse; snake
d. Penguin; mouse

Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand the concept of energy expenditure: Energy expenditure refers to the amount of energy an organism uses to maintain its bodily functions and activities over a period of time.
Consider the size and metabolic rate of each animal: Larger animals like elephants have higher total energy expenditures due to their size, but smaller animals like mice have higher energy expenditures per unit mass due to their faster metabolism.
Analyze the options given: Option a suggests that the elephant has the highest total energy expenditure and the mouse has the highest energy expenditure per unit mass. This aligns with the general understanding of metabolic rates.
Compare the metabolic rates: Elephants, being large, have a high total energy expenditure, while mice, being small and having a high metabolism, expend more energy per unit mass compared to larger animals.
Conclude based on metabolic principles: The elephant is likely to have the highest total annual energy expenditure due to its size, and the mouse is likely to have the highest energy expenditure per unit mass due to its high metabolic rate.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Energy Expenditure

Energy expenditure refers to the total amount of energy an organism uses to maintain its bodily functions and perform activities. It includes basal metabolic rate, thermogenesis, and physical activity. Larger animals like elephants have higher total energy expenditures due to their size, while smaller animals may have higher energy expenditures per unit mass due to their faster metabolism.
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Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Basal Metabolic Rate is the rate at which an organism uses energy while at rest to maintain vital bodily functions such as breathing, circulation, and cell production. BMR is influenced by factors like body size, age, and temperature regulation. Smaller animals, like mice, often have higher BMRs per unit mass compared to larger animals, leading to higher energy expenditure relative to their size.
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Metabolic Scaling

Metabolic scaling describes how metabolic rate changes with body size. Generally, larger animals have lower metabolic rates per unit mass compared to smaller animals, a concept known as allometric scaling. This means that while an elephant has a higher total energy expenditure, a mouse has a higher energy expenditure per unit mass due to its rapid metabolism and smaller size.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

The body tissue that consists largely of material located outside of cells is

a. Epithelial tissue

b. Connective tissue

c. Muscle tissue

d. Nervous tissue

Textbook Question

Which of the following would increase the rate of heat exchange between an animal and its environment?

a. Feathers or fur

b. Vasoconstriction

c. Wind blowing across the body surface

d. Countercurrent heat exchanger

Textbook Question

Compared with a smaller cell, a larger cell of the same shape has

a. Less surface area

b. Less surface area per unit of volume

c. The same surface-area-to-volume ratio

d. A smaller cytoplasm-to-nucleus ratio

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Textbook Question

An animal's inputs of energy and materials would exceed its outputs

a. If the animal is an endotherm, which must always take in more energy because of its high metabolic rate

b. If it is actively foraging for food

c. If it is growing and increasing its mass

d. Never; due to homeostasis, these energy and material budgets always balance

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Textbook Question

You are studying a large tropical reptile that has a high and relatively stable body temperature. How do you determine whether this animal is an endotherm or an ectotherm?

a. You know from its high and stable body temperature that it must be an endotherm.

b. You subject this reptile to various temperatures in the lab and find that its body temperature and metabolic rate change with the ambient temperature. You conclude that it is an ectotherm.

c. You note that its environment has a high and stable temperature. Because its body temperature matches the environmental temperature, you conclude that it is an ectotherm.

d. You measure the metabolic rate of the reptile, and because it is higher than that of a related species that lives in temperate forests, you conclude that this reptile is an endotherm and its relative is an ectotherm.