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      Global biodiversity, biochemical kinetics, and the energetic-equivalence rule.

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          Abstract

          The latitudinal gradient of increasing biodiversity from poles to equator is one of the most prominent but least understood features of life on Earth. Here we show that species diversity can be predicted from the biochemical kinetics of metabolism. We first demonstrate that the average energy flux of populations is temperature invariant. We then derive a model that quantitatively predicts how species diversity increases with environmental temperature. Predictions are supported by data for terrestrial, freshwater, and marine taxa along latitudinal and elevational gradients. These results establish a thermodynamic basis for the regulation of species diversity and the organization of ecological communities.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Science
          Science (New York, N.Y.)
          American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
          1095-9203
          0036-8075
          Aug 30 2002
          : 297
          : 5586
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. drewa@unm.edu
          Article
          297/5586/1545
          10.1126/science.1072380
          12202828
          559c9120-b203-4e43-9f65-a2c8450c3612
          History

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