研究人员表示，生物体利用能量来生长和繁殖，所以能量代谢和生物生产的过程应该是紧密结合的。
在这一原则的基础上，研究人员提出并测试了一个新的理论，预测了生命的三个基本方面：新陈代谢率、生长和繁殖之间的关系。结果表明，这些过程的优化产生了所观察到的后生动物生命的异质性，特别是新陈代谢的比例。
研究人员的结论是：新陈代谢、生长和繁殖是密不可分的；它们共同决定了健康状况；而且，与长期以来的教条相反，没有任何一个组成部分会驱动另一个组成部分。这个模型预测，人类活动的变化将导致动物的新陈代谢比例指数下降，生长速度增加，终生生殖能力下降，从而对未来种群的补充产生令人担忧的后果。
附：英文原文
Title: Metabolic scaling is the product of life-history optimization
Author: Craig R. White, Lesley A. Alton, Candice L. Bywater, Emily J. Lombardi, Dustin J. Marshall
Issue&Volume: 2022-08-19
Abstract: Organisms use energy to grow and reproduce, so the processes of energy metabolism and biological production should be tightly bound. On the basis of this tenet, we developed and tested a new theory that predicts the relationships among three fundamental aspects of life: metabolic rate, growth, and reproduction. We show that the optimization of these processes yields the observed allometries of metazoan life, particularly metabolic scaling. We conclude that metabolism, growth, and reproduction are inextricably linked; that together they determine fitness; and, in contrast to longstanding dogma, that no single component drives another. Our model predicts that anthropogenic change will cause animals to evolve decreased scaling exponents of metabolism, increased growth rates, and reduced lifetime reproductive outputs, with worrying consequences for the replenishment of future populations.
DOI: abm7649
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm7649