A method for finding distribution of metabolic energy between organismal functions: application to birds' energy expenditures to counteract gravity and to support steady and short flights

A method for finding distribution of metabolic energy between organismal functions: application to birds' energy expenditures to counteract gravity and to support steady and short flights | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A method for finding distribution of metabolic energy between organismal functions: application to birds' energy expenditures to counteract gravity and to support steady and short flights Yuri K. Shestopaloff This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6473903/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Production of energy (metabolism) and its distribution is vital for living organisms, both at individual level - between different functions of an organism, as well as between species of communities at different organizational levels, including food chains. Here, a new general method for finding distribution of metabolic energy between different organismal functions is proposed. The method is based on earlier discoveries (in two independent studies, for multicellular and unicellular organisms) that metabolic allometric scaling is the result of natural selection guided by optimization of distribution of common resources between the species of a food chain. This distribution is established in such a way that it secures amount of resources for each species to reproduce in sufficient quantities (sufficient for preservation of a food chain), while not allowing some species acquiring too many resources to jeopardize existence of other species they prey on or share common resources with. The introduced method was applied to birds, including both steady and short flights modes. Birds' metabolism has specifics, because besides other functions, it has to compensate force of gravity during the flight. However, this parameter is difficult to find, while such data is important for ecological studies at population and individual levels. We discovered increase of fraction of metabolic power required to compensate force of gravity with mass increase, which is a principal factor, restricting maximum possible mass of flying animals. The obtained results show efficiency of a proposed method for detailed studies of animals' metabolism, physiology, and of population ecology. Biophysics Cellular Metabolism Developmental Biology Evolutionary Biology flying animals metabolism maximum mass energy expenditures energy distribution force of gravity acceleration potential energy true take off Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6473903","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":479756696,"identity":"70de87de-c8ef-440f-ac17-e66e72eb7678","order_by":0,"name":"Yuri K. 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