metabolic scaling

Metabolic scaling refers to how an organism's metabolic rate—the energy it uses for vital functions—changes with its size. Generally, larger animals consume more total energy than smaller ones, but not in a directly proportional way; for example, a dog uses more energy than a mouse, but not 100 times more. Instead, metabolic rate tends to increase at a slower rate than body mass, often following a specific mathematical relationship called allometric scaling (roughly proportional to body size raised to the 3/4 power). This concept helps explain how different organisms balance their energy needs relative to their size.