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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Is the body size of a species related to the size of a group of that species?
« on: 18/11/2008 05:36:04 »
Hi,
this is a question based on a memory of a biology teacher back when I was at school.
I'm pretty sure she said one day that there is a linear relationship between the body mass of individuals in a species and the average size of a group of that species.
As I remember, she put a graph up on the OHP with average body size on one axis and average group size on the other and there were several points plotted each representing a mammalian species, I think.
Although it was a line of best fit and the points were not all very close to the line, there did seem to be a relationship using the points that were plotted.
It was important because humans apparently fall at about 130 individuals per group given our body mass, which seemed like a nice social group to me, and it was this incident that convinced me that this is a true and natural (albeit flexible) fact.
However thinking about it, I'm not sure if it is. I've had a search on the internet and don't seem to be able to find any research on this fairly simple relationship.
Can any biologist out there help?
this is a question based on a memory of a biology teacher back when I was at school.
I'm pretty sure she said one day that there is a linear relationship between the body mass of individuals in a species and the average size of a group of that species.
As I remember, she put a graph up on the OHP with average body size on one axis and average group size on the other and there were several points plotted each representing a mammalian species, I think.
Although it was a line of best fit and the points were not all very close to the line, there did seem to be a relationship using the points that were plotted.
It was important because humans apparently fall at about 130 individuals per group given our body mass, which seemed like a nice social group to me, and it was this incident that convinced me that this is a true and natural (albeit flexible) fact.
However thinking about it, I'm not sure if it is. I've had a search on the internet and don't seem to be able to find any research on this fairly simple relationship.
Can any biologist out there help?