Data from: Insect rate-temperature relationships: environmental variation and the metabolic theory of ecology

Much of the recent discussion concerning the form and underlying mechanistic basis of metabolic rate–temperature and development rate–temperature relationships has been precipitated by the development of the metabolic theory of ecology (MTE). Empirical tests of the theory’s fundamental equation are an essential component of establishing its validity. Here, we test the temperature component of the fundamental equation of the MTE as it applies to metabolic rate and development rate, using insects as model organisms. Specifically, we test (i) whether mean activation energies, E, approximate the 0.65 eV value proposed by the proponents of the MTE and whether the range of values is tightly constrained between 0.6 and 0.7 eV, as they have argued; (ii) whether phylogenetic signal is apparent in the rate‐temperature relationships; (iii) whether the slopes of the rate‐temperature relationships show consistent, directional variation associated with environmental variables; and (iv) whether intra‐ and interspecific rate‐temperature relationships differ significantly. Because the majority of activation energy values fell outside the predicted range and rate‐temperature relationships showed consistent directional variation correlated with large‐scale climatic variation, we conclude that data from insects provide only limited support for the MTE. In consequence, we consider alternative explanations for variation in rate‐temperature relationships.

近年来，围绕代谢速率-温度、发育速率-温度关系的形式与潜在机制基础的大量讨论，均由生态学代谢理论（Metabolic Theory of Ecology, MTE）的构建所催生。对该理论基本方程的实证检验，是验证其有效性的必要组成部分。本文以昆虫作为模式生物，检验了MTE基本方程中适用于代谢速率与发育速率的温度相关组分。具体而言，本研究依次检验如下四个命题：（1）平均活化能E是否趋近于MTE提出者所主张的0.65电子伏特（eV）数值，且其取值范围是否如他们所言被严格限定于0.6至0.7 eV之间；（2）速率-温度关系中是否存在显著的系统发育信号（phylogenetic signal）；（3）速率-温度关系的斜率是否呈现出与环境变量相关的一致性定向变化；（4）种内与种间的速率-温度关系是否存在显著差异。鉴于多数活化能数值落在预测范围之外，且速率-温度关系呈现出与大尺度气候变异相关的一致性定向变化，我们认为昆虫相关数据仅为MTE提供了有限的支持。据此，我们对速率-温度关系变异的其他潜在解释进行了探讨。