Complex physiological dynamics have been argued to be a signature of healthy physiological function. Here we test whether the complexity of metabolic rate fluctuations in small endotherms decreases with lower environmental temperatures. To do so, we examine the multifractal temporal scaling properties of the rate of change in oxygen consumption r(VO2), in the laboratory mouse Mus musculus, asse...

Respiration rate has been used as an indicator of metabolic rate and associated cost of transport (COT) of free-ranging cetaceans, discounting potential respiration-by-respiration variation in O2 uptake. To investigate the influence of respiration timing on O2 uptake, we developed a dynamic model of O2 exchange and storage. Individual respiration events were revealed from kinematic data from 10...

With so many economy/budget lodging brands and rooms added to the market, it is difficult for consumers to identify differences in the services offered. In addition, industry practitioners need to understand what is expected of them by the consumers they serve. The authors review the economy budget lodging in general and empirically examine this issue. This article is available in Hospitality R...

Many insects at rest breathe discontinuously, alternating between brief bouts of gas exchange and extended periods of breath-holding. The association between discontinuous gas exchange cycles (DGCs) and inactivity has long been recognised, leading to speculation that DGCs lie at one end of a continuum of gas exchange patterns, from continuous to discontinuous, linked to metabolic rate (MR). How...

Studies focusing on physiological variation among individuals, and its possible evolutionary consequences, are scarce. A trait can only be a target of natural selection if it is consistent over time, that is, a trait must be repeatable. In ectotherms it has been suggested that standard metabolic rate (MR) is related to Darwinian fitness, since it reflects energy usage and expenditure. The metab...

Elucidation of tumour suppression mechanisms is a major challenge in cancer biology. Therefore, Peto's paradox, or low cancer incidence in large animals, has attracted focus. According to the gene-abundance hypothesis, which considers the increase/decrease in cancer-related genes with body size, researchers evaluated the associations between gene abundance and body size. However, previous studi...

Experiences with measuring high-bandwidth telecommunications traffic are described. This work has occurred as part of the WAND project which aims to provide large and reliable teletraffic traces. It is argued that to achieve this, special purpose hardware as well as careful attention to the details of measurement are required. The design of a series of measurement boards operating up to OC-48 i...

The distribution of diversity can vary considerably from clade to clade. Attempts to understand these patterns often employ state speciation and extinction models to determine whether the evolution of a particular novel trait has increased speciation rates and/or decreased their extinction rates. It is still unclear, however, whether these models are uncovering important drivers of diversificat...

Evolutionary hypotheses to explain the greater numbers of species in the tropics than the temperate zone include greater age and area, higher temperature and metabolic rates, and greater ecological opportunity. These ideas make contrasting predictions about the relationship between speciation processes and latitude, which I elaborate and evaluate. Available data suggest that per capita speciati...

Hypoxia is a common occurrence in aquatic habitats, and it is becoming an increasingly frequent and widespread environmental perturbation, primarily as the result of anthropogenic nutrient enrichment and climate change. An in-depth understanding of the hypoxia tolerance of fishes, and how this varies among individuals and species, is required to make accurate predictions of future ecological im...