Bergmann's rule

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States that body weight tends to a minimum in warmer regions, increases to a certain threshold as temperature declines, and then falls off again as temperature falls further.

Description

States that body weight tends to a minimum in warmer regions, increases to a certain threshold as temperature declines, and then falls off again as temperature falls further. Birds and mammals in cold regions have been observed to be bulkier than individuals of the same species in warm regions. It was proposed by Carl Bergmann, to account for an adaptive mechanism to conserve or to radiate body heat, depending on climate.

See also Allen's rule, under Dudley Peter Allen, American physician and surgeon, 1852-1915.

Bibliography

  • C. Bergmann:
    Ueber die Verhältnisse der wärmeökonomie der Thiere zu ihrer Grösse.
    Göttinger Studien, Göttingen, 1847, 3 (1), 595-708.

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