Relation between Body Size and Metabolism

Abstract

SINCE 1935, work has been proceeding on the respiration of different genotypes of Drosophila melanogaster during the first hours of the puparial period. The work has now been completed, and a full account will shortly be ready for publication, For the moment, however, it may be said that differences in oxygen uptake per mgm. body weight originally found between the sexes and between the wild-type and its mutant vestigial were later shown to be due to slight differences in the sizes of these animals ; when these were eliminated by alteration of the culture conditions the metabolic differences also disappeared. By actual measurement of the surface area of puparia it was further shown that the surface area per mgm. decreased, with increasing body size, at the same rate as did the oxygen consumption per mgm., and that the oxygen consumption was therefore related to the surface area.