Table 5. Comparison of the theoretical value of the exponent, b, with the value obtained by PI regression analysis for the equation BMR = aWb for MMLE homogeneous groups.
The exponents from PI regression analyses, b, are the slope values reported in Tables 1, 3 and 4 for the PI regression type with independent variable Mass (g) and dependent variable BMR (watts). The theoretical exponent is either (1) the value assuming geometric similarity or (2) the Eq. (6) value, 2/x, where x is the slope value reported in Tables 1, 3 or 4 for the AVG regression type with independent variable Height (m) or Length (mm) and dependent variable Mass (g). The values for x were obtained by analyses of data from Nowak (1999) by the cohort averaging regression method (AVG). The PI regression analysis exponents were obtained by Phylogenetically Informed (PI) regression analyses of Kolokotrones et al. (2010) data using BayesTraits. A log likelihood ratio less than 4.0 means that an exponent from the PI regression analysis column is not significantly different from the corresponding exponent from the theoretical exponent column (Pagel, 1999).
| MMLE homogeneous group | Exponent from PI regression analysis, b | Theoretical exponent | Log likelihood ratio | Significant difference? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnivora less Mustelidae | 0.758 | 0.7651(2) | 0.1 | N |
| Ruminant artiodactyls | 0.7805 | 0.7651(2) | 2.8 | N |
| Mustelidae less Enhydra | 0.6852 | 0.6667(1) | 0.4 | N |
| Cricetidae Rodentia | 0.6597 | 0.6773(2) | 17.8 | Y |
| Cricetidae Rodentia | 0.6597 | 0.6667(1) | 4.0 | N |
| Heavy bats | 0.8225 | 0.7344(2) | 4.1 | Y/N |
| Light bats | 0.7015 | 0.6694(2) | NC | NC |
Notes.
N means “no”, Y means “yes” and Y/N means borderline. NC means that a log likelihood ratio could not be calculated for the Light bats group.