tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17262131.post3700806356727441060..comments2023-09-30T21:01:03.664+01:00Comments on El Gentraso: How big can a meat-eater get?John Whitfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07808639289887327978noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17262131.post-6691793112330239222007-01-16T15:33:00.000+00:002007-01-16T15:33:00.000+00:00Good point - this does only apply to terrestrial m...Good point - this does only apply to terrestrial mammalian carnivores. I asked Carbone about marine mammals, and he pointed out that costs of movement were not related to size in the same way for marine mammals - big ones do not have the same trouble supporting themselves, because water does it for them, and moving through the water is probably more efficient for big mammals, because drag is not such an influence on them.<br /><br />Another difference is that the biggest marine carnivores - baleen whales - prey on tiny stuff, such as krill. I guess their being filter feeders might make their ecology more similar to herbivores. It'd be interesting to look at the hunting behaviour of toothed whales, such as dolphins and orcas. Not sure how good the data are.John Whitfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07808639289887327978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17262131.post-25446617479504763562007-01-16T14:13:00.000+00:002007-01-16T14:13:00.000+00:00An important distinction that you make in the arti...An important distinction that you make in the article is that this result refers to land mammals only. Aquatic mammalian carnivores get much larger than 1000kg, as do reptilian carnivores.<br /><br />Has anyone looked at this scaling issue in aquatic organisms?RPMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00344508931818143159noreply@blogger.com