Shark Data Suggests Animals Scale Like Geometric Objects
Despite their wide variety of sizes, niches and shapes, sharks scale geometrically, pointing to possible fundamental constraints on evolution.
For centuries, biologists have wondered if life forms follow the two-thirds scaling law, where the surface area increases roughly as fast as the volume to the two-thirds power, even though they come in a stunning variety of shapes and sizes.
Recently, researchers used CT scans and digital tools to calculate the surface areas and volumes of an ancient and diverse animal lineage: sharks.
If the object’s geometry and shape remain the same as it gets bigger, then its surface area will increase roughly as fast as its volume to the two-thirds power.
This discovery suggests that there are underlying constraints fundamental to evolution that might influence how life interacts with the world around it.
Author's summary: Sharks scale geometrically like objects.