Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 11.8
Allometric coefficients
of Serrasalmus gouldingi. Coefficients
higher than 1.0 indicate positive allome-
try; coefficients lower than 1.0 indicate
negative allometry; and coefficients near
1.0 indicate isometry.
growth: the head and caudal body initially grow very rapidly and, later, during juvenile
growth, the middle of the body catches up. The spatial distribution of growth rates can
also suggest an anteroposterior gradient, meaning that the rates fall off linearly from the
head to the tail. To analyze these patterns more rigorously Huxley constructed “growth
profiles”, which are plots of allometric coefficients as a function of their position along
body axes.
Laird and colleagues have stressed the temporal significance of allometric coefficients
(
Laird, 1965; Laird et al., 1968
). Even though time is not explicitly incorporated in studies
