A General Model for the Origin of Allometric Scaling Laws in Biology
Fractal distribution networks explain 3/4 power metabolic scaling
West, Brown, and Enquist's influential paper showed that the fractal structure of biological distribution networks (vascular systems, bronchial trees) explains the universal 3/4 power scaling of metabolic rate with body mass across organisms. By demonstrating that fractal geometry constrains biological scaling, they provided a theoretical foundation for understanding why hierarchical branching is evolutionarily optimal.
This work connects fractal structure to organizational scaling - suggesting that organizations, like organisms, face fundamental constraints on how they can scale efficiently.
Key Findings from West et al. (1997)
- Fractal distribution networks explain 3/4 power metabolic scaling
- Space-filling fractal networks minimize transport distances
- Scaling laws emerge from geometric constraints on resource distribution
- Scaling laws emerge from fractal-like resource distribution networks
- 3/4 power scaling is mathematically optimal for nutrient distribution
- Physical constraints, not evolution alone, determine organism size limits
- 3/4 scaling emerges from fractal branching networks that distribute resources
- Networks must be space-filling, have size-invariant terminal units, and minimize energy dissipation
- The model predicts numerous other quarter-power scaling relationships
Used in 3 chapters
See how this research informs the book's frameworks:
Shows fractal structure of biological distribution networks explains universal 3/4 power scaling, connecting geometry to organizational scaling.
See fractal scaling fundamentals →Provides theoretical foundation for why biological scaling laws exist - they derive from physics of resource distribution networks.
See growth limit mechanisms →Dominant modern explanation demonstrating that optimal fractal networks produce exactly mass^0.75 metabolic scaling.
See scaling law derivations →