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Growth autocorrelation and animal size variation
Article first published online: 16 DEC 2003
DOI: 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00556.x
Additional Information
How to Cite
Fujiwara, M., Kendall, B. E. and Nisbet, R. M. (2004), Growth autocorrelation and animal size variation. Ecology Letters, 7: 106–113. doi: 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00556.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 16 DEC 2003
- Article first published online: 16 DEC 2003
- Editor, J. Casas Manuscript received 27 August 2003 First decision made 8 October 2003 Second decision made 27 October 2003 Manuscript accepted 17 November 2003
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Keywords:
- Bioenergetics;
- dynamic energy budget;
- energy reserves;
- fluctuating food;
- growth autocorrelation;
- low-pass filter;
- pink noise;
- size variability;
- stochastic growth model
Abstract
It has long been recognized that variability in animal size is affected by how individual growth rate is autocorrelated in time. Earlier studies have attributed the mechanism generating the autocorrelation primarily to size-dependent growth rate and autocorrelation in resource abundance. All of these studies have shown that positive autocorrelation in individual growth rate always translates into increased variability in size. We show that energy reserves in individuals induce growth autocorrelation by acting like a low pass filter between the resource and the internal energy that is available for metabolism, growth and reproduction. However, the reserve also reduces the variance in growth rate. Consequently, reserve-induced growth autocorrelation has relatively little effect on size variability in the population, contradicting existing ideas about the relationship between the growth autocorrelation and size variability.