Co-variation and trade-offs in ontogenetic scaling of growth and metabolic rates in teleost fish.

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101719179 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2399-3642 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 23993642 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Commun Biol Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London, United Kingdom : Nature Publishing Group UK, [2018]-

Fishes*/growth & development ; Fishes*/metabolism ; Energy Metabolism* ; Basal Metabolism*; Animals ; Body Size ; Biological Evolution

The influential metabolic theory of ecology proposes that metabolic rate determines growth and ecological processes in a universal, size-dependent manner, scaling with body mass^0.75. Conversely, newer life-history-optimisation theory suggests that metabolic scaling varies due to evolutionary optimisation of energy allocation, predicting negative correlation between metabolic rate and growth. However, metabolic scaling has almost exclusively been investigated across individuals or species, not within individuals through ontogeny. By measuring body mass and metabolic rate longitudinally an average 6.6 times within the same 389 individuals from seven fish species, we find that within-individual ontogenetic scaling of standard (maintenance) metabolic rate correlates positively with scaling of growth, while scaling of aerobic scope correlates negatively. Accelerating ontogenetic growth thus appears to come at a cost of reduced metabolic scope to support functions beyond maintenance. Our results suggest that underappreciated variation in growth can explain why metabolic scaling varies, challenging dogmatic ¾-power scaling and life-history-optimisation theory.
(© 2026. The Author(s).)

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests

Erratum in: Commun Biol. 2026 Mar 23;9(1):413. doi: 10.1038/s42003-026-09910-6.. (PMID: 41872491)

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1054-00020B Det Frie Forskningsråd (Danish Council for Independent Research); 40713 Villum Fonden (Villum Foundation)

Date Created: 20260129 Date Completed: 20260611 Latest Revision: 20260611

20260611

PMC12957485

10.1038/s42003-026-09588-w

41611969