Problems of allometric scaling analysis: examples from mammalian reproductive biology
1 Academic Affairs, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL
60605-2496, USA
2 Département d'Ecologie et d'Evolution, Université de
Lausanne, Bâtiment de Biologie, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
3 Centre for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen,
Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, The Netherlands
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: rdmartin{at}fieldmuseum.org)
Accepted 2 March 2005
Summary
Biological scaling analyses employing the widely used bivariate allometric model are beset by at least four interacting problems: (1) choice of an appropriate best-fit line with due attention to the influence of outliers; (2) objective recognition of divergent subsets in the data (allometric grades); (3) potential restrictions on statistical independence resulting from phylogenetic inertia; and (4) the need for extreme caution in inferring causation from correlation. A new non-parametric line-fitting technique has been developed that eliminates requirements for normality of distribution, greatly reduces the influence of outliers and permits objective recognition of grade shifts in substantial datasets. This technique is applied in scaling analyses of mammalian gestation periods and of neonatal body mass in primates. These analyses feed into a re-examination, conducted with partial correlation analysis, of the maternal energy hypothesis relating to mammalian brain evolution, which suggests links between body size and brain size in neonates and adults, gestation period and basal metabolic rate. Much has been made of the potential problem of phylogenetic inertia as a confounding factor in scaling analyses. However, this problem may be less severe than suspected earlier because nested analyses of variance conducted on residual variation (rather than on raw values) reveals that there is considerable variance at low taxonomic levels. In fact, limited divergence in body size between closely related species is one of the prime examples of phylogenetic inertia. One common approach to eliminating perceived problems of phylogenetic inertia in allometric analyses has been calculation of `independent contrast values'. It is demonstrated that the reasoning behind this approach is flawed in several ways. Calculation of contrast values for closely related species of similar body size is, in fact, highly questionable, particularly when there are major deviations from the best-fit line for the scaling relationship under scrutiny.
Key words: best-fit lines, brain size, gestation period, grade shift, maternal energy hypothesis, metabolic scaling, non-parametric line fitting, neonatal body mass, outliers, phylogenetic inertia
Introduction
Analysis of scaling relationships between individual biological features
and body size across species (interspecific allometry) has a long history and
has made a particularly valuable contribution to studies of animal physiology
(Schmidt-Nielsen, 1972,
1984
). Scaling of basal
metabolic rate (BMR) has been a central concern
(Brody and Procter, 1932
;
Brody, 1945
; Kleiber,
1932
,
1947
,
1961
; Hemmingsen,
1950
,
1960
;
McNab, 2002
). Reference is
often made to the influence of Huxley
(1932
), but his interest
focussed on scaling within species (intraspecific allometry), notably with
respect to growth. In fact, it seems that interspecific scaling analyses were
initiated considerably earlier in studies of vertebrate brain size (e.g.
Snell, 1891
; Dubois,
1897a
,b
,
1913
). There has also been
considerable interest in the scaling of variables in reproductive biology,
notably among mammals (e.g. Portmann,
1941
,
1965
), and these have been
shown to connect up with brain development and hence with the scaling of brain
size (Portmann, 1962
;
Sacher and Staffeldt, 1974
;
Sacher, 1982
). This review
focuses on two examples taken from mammalian reproductive biology and on
exploration of potential connections with the development and completed size
of the brain. It follows a `frequentist approach', in which the probability of
the data having occurred is estimated given a particular hypothesis. An
alternative approach taken by some authors is Bayesian inference, which uses
information available prior to the study to generate a probability
distribution (Ellison,
2004
).
Bivariate allometric analyses of the relationship between any chosen
individual biological dimension (Y) and body size (X,
usually body mass) have generally used the empirical scaling formula
Y=k·X, in which k
is the allometric coefficient and
the allometric exponent
(Gould, 1966
;
Martin, 1989
). It is standard
practice to convert data to logarithmic form for analysis, as this linearizes
the allometric formula (logY=
.logX+logk), making it more
amenable to statistical treatment and interpretation. The exponent
is
directly indicated by the slope of the best-fit line and the coefficient
k by the intercept. This widely used approach is mainly applied to
identify positive or negative deviations of individual species from the
overall scaling relationship (their residual values) and to detect grade
shifts between groups of species (Martin,
1989
). One widely used application of this approach has been
examination of the size of the brain (or parts thereof) relative to body size
in a given sample of species and to seek potential links with behavioural
and/or ecological features (e.g. Jerison,
1963
,
1973
;
Eisenberg and Wilson, 1978
;
Clutton-Brock and Harvey,
1980
; Harvey and Bennett,
1983
; Gittleman,
1986
; Sawaguchi,
1992
; Barton et al.,
1995
; Dunbar,
1995
; Allman, 1999
;
Barton and Harvey, 2000
).
Although allometric analysis can also permit identification and subsequent
interpretation of the scaling exponent (
), as has been common in
physiological studies (Schmidt-Nielsen,
1972
,
1984
), this aspect has
generally received far less attention. One striking exception has been
determination and interpretation of the scaling exponent for the relationship
between basal metabolic rate and body mass in mammals. Debate about whether
the `true' value of the interspecific scaling exponent is 0.67 or 0.75 has
recently been fuelled by the observation that the empirically determined value
may be biased upwards by inclusion of large-bodied herbivores with marked
digestive fermentation (White and Seymour,
2003
,
2005
). There have been
increasingly sophisticated attempts to provide a valid theoretical explanation
for the commonly accepted scaling exponent value of 0.75 (e.g. West et al.,
1997
,
1999
;
Darveau et al., 2002
; Bejan,
2001
,
2005
; Dawson,
2001
,
2005
), but these are
bedevilled both by uncertainty about the actual scaling exponent for BMR and
by the unresolved conflict between competing explanations. Furthermore,
questions have been raised about the reliability of simple power laws in this
context (Weibel, 2002
).
Problems in allometric analysis
The seeming simplicity of the allometric equation and the apparent ease
with which a line can be fitted to logarithmically converted data are
deceptive. Complex statistical and logical problems inherent in such bivariate
analysis have been progressively recognized
(Fig. 1). To make matters
worse, these problems interact in ways that hinder straightforward
interpretation of allometric analyses. The most immediately obvious problem in
allometric analysis, already debated extensively, is the choice of an
appropriate best-fit line (e.g. see Harvey
and Mace, 1982; Martin,
1989
; Martin and Barbour,
1989
; Harvey and Pagel,
1991
; Riska,
1991
). Most published allometric analyses have used least-squares
regression (Model I regression) to determine a best-fit line. This is simple
to calculate because it only takes into account unidirectional deviations of
species from the best-fit line (those relative to the Y-axis).
However, this approach rests on the requirements that (a) the
X-variable be measured without error, and (b) the Y-variable
be clearly dependent upon the X-variable. With interspecific
biological data, it is inherently unlikely that both of these criteria will be
met, even if in some cases measurement error in body mass may be minor in
comparison to that in the Y-variable (e.g. see
Taper and Marquet, 1996
). In
an analysis of mammalian brain mass relative to body mass, for example, there
is no reason why the measurement error for brain mass should be greater than
that for body mass. Indeed, for various reasons it is more likely that the
converse will be true. Furthermore, it is not evident that brain mass is
unidirectionally dependent on body mass in any sense. Both brain mass and body
mass depend on species-specific growth processes programmed in the genome, and
some evidence in fact suggests that brain growth may serve as a pacemaker for
bodily growth (Sacher and Staffeldt,
1974
). To escape the questionable twin assumptions underlying the
use of least-squares regression in bivariate allometric analysis, various
authors have instead used a Model II regression approach that allows for
variation in both variables and does not require a distinction between
dependent and independent variables. The major axis and the reduced major axis
have both been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, it is still widely held
that the least-squares regression is appropriate for any kind of prediction.
Because the residual value for any species is the difference between the
actual Y-value and that `predicted' by the best-fit line, this
implies that the least-squares regression may be the method of choice for one
of the main concerns in allometric analyses. Hence, uncertainty about the
correct line-fitting procedure continues. In cases where the data fit fairly
closely to a single best-fit line, the choice of line-fitting technique is
relatively unimportant. However, in cases where the data are widely scattered
relative to the line (thus containing potentially interesting information
about differential biological adaptation among species), the alternative
line-fitting methods can yield very different conclusions.
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Determination of a best-fit line using any of the commonly used techniques
(least-squares regression, major axis or reduced major axis) is complicated by
two additional factors. First, there is an underlying assumption that the
X- and Y-variables are normally distributed and, indeed,
that the standard model of the bivariate normal distribution is potentially
applicable. However, whereas the assumption of bivariate normal distribution
may be justifiable for certain intraspecific comparisons, it is rarely if ever
appropriate for interspecific comparisons
(Martin and Barbour, 1989).
The three commonly used line-fitting techniques are all derived from the
general structural relationship model and thus ideally require knowledge about
the distribution of the data. In comparative analyses, estimation of error
variances is problematic because scatter in the data reflects a combination of
sampling error and biological variation, with no means of distinguishing
between them (Riska, 1991
).
The second obstacle to determination of an appropriate best-fit line is that
individual values deviating greatly from the line (outliers), particularly if
located at the extremes of the line, can strongly influence the value obtained
for the slope. Because of their mode of calculation, least-squares regression,
major axis and reduced major axis are all very sensitive to outliers. To avoid
the problematic standard requirements for normality of distribution and
knowledge of error variances, and to achieve decreased sensitivity to
outliers, a non-parametric line-fitting technique was developed
(Isler et al., 2002
). This is
an iterative method in which the slope of the best-fit line is obtained as the
angle of rotation required to minimize a measure of the degree of dependence
(D) between marginal values of the X- and
Y-variables. D is obtained as the integral of the difference
between the density of the common distribution of X and Y
and the product of the marginal densities of X and Y. The
pivotal point for rotation is provided by the median values of X and
Y, and the data are subdivided into quantiles for assessment of
dependence. This non-parametric `rotation method' involves no assumptions
about error distributions. Furthermore, it proved to be remarkably resistant
to the influence of outliers in comparison to standard parametric
techniques.
Marked dispersion of points around the best-fit line becomes even more of a
problem when the data are heterogeneous, falling into distinct subgroups
(grades) that arguably require determination of separate best-fit lines.
Determination of a single best-fit line can yield a very misleading result in
cases where grade shifts remain unrecognized. Hitherto, however, there has
been no readily available technique permitting objective recognition of grade
shifts and appropriate analysis of data subsets. Analysis of separate grades
has been limited to cases where the investigator suspected for biological
reasons of some kind that subdivision of the dataset would be appropriate. As
a matter of course, it should be asked whether a single best-fit line is
appropriate for any given dataset, and it is advisable to test the outcome of
fitting separate lines to subsets that may be suspected to exist on taxonomic,
functional or other grounds. In fact, an additional benefit of the new
non-parametric `rotation line' method
(Isler et al., 2002) is that
it provides an objective basis for recognition of grade shifts in datasets in
cases where these are very marked. One step in applying this method is visual
inspection of minima in the D-values indicating the degree of
dependence between marginal values of X and Y. If there is a
reasonable clear linear relationship between the X- and
Y-values and no marked subdivision of the data into grades, a single
minimum is found for the D-values. However, if the dataset is
subdivided into distinctly separate grades, this is indicated by one or more
additional local minima for the D-values. Unfortunately, if the
sample size is small or the distributions of subsets in a given dataset
overlap extensively, the existence of grades will not be detectable in this
way.
There is another potential problem involved in bivariate allometric
analysis in that the values for individual species included in a given sample
may not meet the criterion of statistical independence because all species are
connected to one another to varying degrees in a phylogenetic tree
(Felsenstein, 1985). There is,
in principle, a danger that closely related species do not represent
independent samples from the adaptive landscape and may therefore bias the
outcome of allometric analysis. If `phylogenetic inertia' or `phylogenetic
constraint' exerts a particularly strong effect, values derived from closely
related species could come close to being repeat observations. Furthermore,
because different branches of a phylogenetic tree typically differ in their
species richness, particularly well-represented taxa (e.g. numerous species in
a single genus) could bias the outcome of analysis even without pronounced
phylogenetic inertia. Once this potential problem was recognized, one
pragmatic approach that was adopted was to take average values at a higher
taxonomic level (e.g. for genera or subfamilies) rather than values for
individual species. However, it could still be argued that phylogenetic
inertia continues to influence the outcome of analyses even at the generic or
subfamilial level, and an additional drawback of the use of values averaged
above the species level is that it results in a progressive reduction in
sample size. For this reason, considerable attention has been devoted to
alternative approaches that might eliminate the potential problem of
statistical non-independence arising from phylogenetic inertia. By far the
most widely used technique is calculation of `independent contrast values'
that are subjected to analysis instead of the raw data for species
(Harvey and Pagel, 1991
). This
technique is based on the assumption that evolutionary change follows a
Brownian motion model (Felsenstein,
1985
). Under this assumption, the differences between the raw
X and Y values for any pair of taxa (the `contrast values')
represent independent evolutionary change, whereas the raw values may
themselves be subject to phylogenetic inertia. Presenting this in simplistic
terms, for any pair of taxa conforming perfectly to an allometric relationship
described by the standard formula, the following subtraction applies:
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Accordingly, a best-fit line determined for contrast values (e.g. log
Y1-log Y2 versus log
X1-log X2) should have a slope
directly reflecting the value of the scaling exponent () and should
pass through the origin. Because limiting the calculation of contrast values
to pairs of extant species would drastically reduce the sample size, the
method is extended down through the tree by averaging values above each node
and then calculating contrast values between adjacent nodes as well. In a
perfectly dichotomous phylogeny, this means that a dataset containing raw mean
values for N extant species will yield a total of N-1
contrast values, thus barely reducing the original sample size. One important
weakness of the method is that the assumption of a Brownian motion model of
evolutionary change, originally proposed by Felsenstein
(1985
), may not always be
adequate. Other more realistic modes of evolution have more recently been
introduced (Hansen, 1997
;
Freckleton et al., 2002
).
Furthermore, the method also has the major drawback that calculation of
contrast values requires the availability of a reliable phylogenetic tree for
the taxa under comparison, ideally including information on the ages of
individual nodes. However, well-resolved phylogenies are becoming increasingly
available for various groups of mammals and other animals. Many recent
allometric analyses have used the standard programme CAIC (comparative
analysis by independent contrasts) developed and distributed by Purvis and
Rambaut (1995
). For primates,
such analyses have been facilitated by the availability of a tailor-made
consensus phylogenetic tree (Purvis,
1995
). In principle, all of the standard methods used for
allometric analysis of the raw data can also be used for analysis of contrast
values. However, for technical reasons relating to the obligate selection of
an independent variable for calculation of contrast values, the best-fit line
prescribed for their analysis is a least-squares regression forced through the
origin (see also Garland et al.,
1992
).
It should be noted that insistence on the need for action to offset effects
of phylogenetic inertia essentially concerns the issue of reliability of tests
for statistical significance. For example, if it is claimed that fruit-eating
primates typically have larger brains than leaf-eating primates (e.g.
Allman, 1999), it is necessary
to exclude the possibility that any probability value attached to this claim
is not biased by the influence of recent common ancestry of fruit-eaters and
leaf-eaters, respectively. It should be noted that Smith
(1994
) has suggested an
alternative approach to eliminating the effects of phylogenetic constraint in
any such comparison by reducing the number of degrees of freedom for
calculation of a probability value. In his examples, approximate halving of
the degrees of freedom was found to be appropriate. However, this alternative
approach leaves open the question of whether, for any given comparison,
phylogenetic inertia might have biased the slope of the allometric line, and
it begs the question of the reliability of residual values determined for
individual species.
All three problems of allometric analysis discussed thus far - choice of an
appropriate best-fit line, recognition and appropriate treatment of grade
shifts, and coping with potential bias arising from phylogenetic inertia -
relate to determination of the allometric relationship and calculation of
reliable residual values on that basis. A fourth problem concerns
interpretation of these results derived from allometric analysis and arises
from dangers inherent in progressing from correlations to causation. It is all
too easy to jump to conclusions about underlying causal factors on the basis
of just a few allometric analyses, in the extreme case relying on just one
bivariate plot. It is essential to recognize that biological variables are
typically linked in complex networks and that it is oversimplification to
single out a pair of variables for analysis (e.g. adult brain and body mass).
This is why the distinction between `dependent' and `independent' variables in
biological systems is fraught with difficulty. It is important to be
especially careful in making such a distinction because it may influence
propagation of errors when allometric relationships are used to generate
derived ones (e.g. see Taper and Marquet,
1996). It is therefore essential to conduct numerous allometric
analyses and to focus on identifying testable hypotheses in order to move
cautiously towards a causal interpretation. One technique that can be used in
tackling complex networks of biological variables is partial correlation,
which permits determination of the correlation remaining between any two
variables after the influence of one or more other variables has been
excluded. Although direct interpretation of a partial correlation as a causal
relationship should be avoided just as carefully as for a simple correlation
(Sokal and Rohlf, 1981
), this
approach is certainly a valuable tool in attempting to progress from
correlation to functional interpretation.
These four main problems in allometric analysis are further exacerbated by
potential interactions between them. For instance, the choice of an
appropriate line-fitting method in allometric analysis can become a secondary
issue if grade shifts are present, because determination of single best-fit
line of any kind for a dataset that is clearly subdivided can yield misleading
results (`grade confusion'). Now it might be thought that, in addition to
eliminating potential bias resulting from phylogenetic inertia, calculation of
independent contrasts could eliminate effects of grade shifts, such that no
special consideration of this problem is required. Indeed, this has been
claimed as a benefit of the CAIC programme
(Purvis and Rambaut, 1995). In
principle, it might be expected that a grade shift in one group of species
might arise in the common ancestor of that group and thus affect only one
contrast value calculated for that ancestral node. This might in fact happen
when a single grade shift is present right at the base of an evolutionary
tree. In other cases, the practice of averaging values between adjacent nodes
to permit calculation of contrast values within the phylogenetic tree will
actually lead to diffusion of the effects of grade shifts through lower nodes.
Thus, especially if there are multiple grade shifts within a given tree and if
they are located well above the initial ancestral node, a complex pattern of
deviating contrast values will result. Of course, if misleading results emerge
from allometric analysis because of failure to recognize and deal effectively
with grade shifts in a dataset, any functional interpretation developed on
that basis must also be flawed.
Examples from mammalian reproduction
Practical application of the interconnected principles of allometric analysis discussed above can be illustrated with two examples from mammalian reproductive biology that link up with inference of a possible connection between reproductive variables and the evolution of brain size. The two examples involve (1) gestation periods in mammals, and (2) neonatal body mass in primates. Before presenting the allometric analysis of these two variables, it should be noted that none of the variables involved (adult body mass, gestation period, neonatal body mass) conforms to a normal distribution (Fig. 2: Shapiro-Wilk test; for dataset (1) with N=429, Mb=0.91 and 0.96 for log gestation time and log adult body mass, respectively; for dataset (2) with N=109, Mb=0.93 and 0.95 for log neonatal body mass and log adult body mass, respectively; P<0.01 in all cases;), thus confirming that a non-parametric approach is preferable.
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Scaling of mammalian gestation periods provides a particularly striking
example of the fundamental need to recognize grade distinctions. If no
attention is paid to possible grade distinctions, the resulting conclusion is
that the slope for scaling of mammalian gestation periods to body size is
quite steep (Fig. 3). Any
single best-fit line that is determined yields a scaling exponent value close
to =0.25. There have been suggestions that a scaling exponent of this
value is typical for individual components of mammalian life histories (e.g.
developmental periods and lifespan; West
et al., 1997
), and it has even been suspected that there might be
a connection with the scaling exponent value of
=0.75 for basal
metabolic rate in that the two exponents combined could result in a `metabolic
lifetime' with a scaling exponent of
=1. However, all of this ignores
the long-established distinction between mammal species that give birth to
multiple litters of poorly developed altricial neonates and those that give
birth to (typically) single, well-developed precocial neonates (Portmann,
1938
,
1939
,
1965
). It should be patently
obvious that, other things being equal, development of an altricial neonate
should require less time than development of a precocial neonate.
Consequently, it is to be expected that there should be a distinct grade shift
in a plot of gestation periods against adult body mass, with values for
species with precocial neonates generally exceeding those for species with
altricial neonates at any given adult body mass. This prediction is, indeed,
borne out if scaling of gestation period in placental mammals is analyzed for
altricial and precocial neonates as two separate grades
(Martin and MacLarnon, 1985
).
The slope of the scaling relationship for each individual grade (altricial or
precocial) is clearly less steep than for the overall dataset
(Fig. 4). In fact, the scaling
exponent value for each grade is almost halved, to
0.15. Hence,
there is in fact no empirical support for the proposition that mammalian
gestation periods resemble other life-history components in scaling with an
exponent value close to
=0.25.
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Scaling of gestation periods in placental mammals provides a good test case
for exploring the grade-detecting capacity of the non-parametric `rotation'
line-fitting method (Isler et al.,
2002). In fact, it had already been shown that iterative fitting
of lines of different slopes to plots of gestation period against adult body
mass yielded a bimodal distribution at a value of
0.15
(Martin, 1989
). Clearly, such
a result should not emerge with a homogeneous dataset conforming even
approximately to a bivariate normal distribution. Following application of the
rotation method to data on gestation periods for 429 placental mammal species,
visual inspection of a plot of D-values reveals that, in addition to
the global minimum value corresponding to
=0.26 there is a local
minimum value corresponding to
0.15
(Fig. 5A). When altricial
species (N=227) and precocial species (N=202) are analysed
separately, in each case the plot of D-values exhibits a single
global minimum (Fig. 5B,C). The
minimum for altricial mammals corresponds to an
value of 0.176, while
the minimum for precocial mammals corresponds to an
value of 0.133.
The mean of these two values is
=0.155, corresponding to the local
minimum value seen in Fig.
5A.
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In fact, the problem posed by grade shifts in the scaling of gestation
periods in placental mammals is even more complicated than the simple division
between altricial and precocial species would suggest. If individual taxonomic
groups within each category are examined, it can be seen that there are less
pronounced grade shifts between them. Among altricial mammals, lipotyphlan
insectivores and carnivores generally have relatively longer gestation periods
than lagomorphs and myomorph rodents (Fig.
6A), while among precocial mammals primates tend to have
relatively longer gestation periods than artiodactyls, and the latter in turn
tend to have relatively longer gestation periods than hystricomorph rodents
(Fig. 6B). However, there is
considerable overlap between taxonomic groups within each category of neonate
type, such that the curves for D-values do not show any local minima
for either category (Fig.
5B,C). Hence, detection of subtle grade shifts still depends on
careful examination of the data to seek differences between biologically
meaningful groups (separate taxa or functional groupings). In the case of
gestation periods, it is important to note that the ancestral condition for
placental mammals was probably production of litters of altricial neonates
(Portmann, 1938,
1939
;
Martin, 1990
). Accordingly, in
addition to the minor divergences now observable among altricial mammals
(Fig. 5A), there were probably
several major grade shifts associated with the evolution of precocial
offspring. Assuming that no reversals occurred, the molecular phylogeny for
placental mammals generated by Murphy et al.
(2001
) would require shifts
from the altricial to the precocial condition in 10 separate lineages
(primates; hyraxes + elephants + sirenians; artiodactyls + cetaceans;
perissodactyls; hystricomorph rodents; elephant shrews; bats; pangolins;
anteaters; xenarthrans). Despite the existence of minor grade distinctions
within categories, it is obvious from histograms of residual values for
gestation period, calculated with an exponent value of
=0.15, that
there is a fundamental dichotomy between altricial and precocial species
(Fig. 7).
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The second example of the need to recognize distinct grades in reproductive
biology is provided by the scaling of neonatal body mass in primates. It has
been known for some time that in strepsirrhine primates (lemurs and lorises)
neonates are markedly smaller relative to adult body mass than in haplorhine
primates (tarsiers, monkeys, apes and humans)
(Leutenegger, 1973;
Martin, 1990
). If a single
best-fit line is determined for the scaling of neonatal body mass in primates
(Fig. 8), the commonly used
parametric techniques all yield an exponent value (
) close to 0.90
(least-squares regression: 0.874; major axis: 0.906; reduced major axis:
0.909). However, visual inspection of a plot of D-values derived from
application of the rotation method clearly shows that, in addition to the
global minimum value corresponding to
=0.916 there is a local minimum
value corresponding to
=0.624 (Fig.
9A). When strepsirrhine primates (N=28) and haplorhine
primates (N=81) are analysed separately, in each case the plot of
D-values exhibits a single global minimum
(Fig. 9B,C). The minimum for
strepsirrhines corresponds to a
value of 0.688, while the minimum for
haplorhines corresponds to a
value of 0.862. The average of these two
values is
=0.775, which is higher than the local minimum value seen in
Fig. 9A. Given this discrepancy
and the fact that the
values determined for strepsirrhines and
haplorhines differ from one another, it seems likely that there are further
subtle grade distinctions within the dataset, in addition to the primary
distinction between strepsirrhines and haplorhines
(Fig. 10).
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Progressing from correlation to causation
Considerable care is needed in attempting to proceed from the empirical
results of allometric scaling analyses to inference of underlying causal
connections. An illustrative example is provided by analyses of potential
links between brain size and basal metabolism in placental mammals. At the
simplest level, several authors noted from analyses of large datasets that the
value of the scaling exponent for brain mass is closely similar to that found
for basal metabolic rate, with 0.75 in both cases
(Bauchot, 1978
;
Eisenberg, 1981
;
Armstrong, 1982
;
Hofman, 1982
;
Martin, 1990
). This led to a
number of proposals for some kind of connection between brain size and basal
metabolic rate. However, it is at once apparent that any existing link must be
indirect because there is far less residual variation relative to the best-fit
line with BMR than with brain size. Overall, BMR varies only by a factor of
four relative to body size, whereas brain size shows much greater variation
relative to body size, showing a 25-fold range of variation. Hence, there is
considerable variation in relative brain size that cannot be explained by
variation in relative BMR. This and other considerations led the first author
to propose the maternal energy hypothesis (Martin,
1981
,
1983
,
1996
,
1998
). In this hypothesis, it
is proposed that the mother's metabolic turnover constrains energy
availability for brain development in the embryo/foetus during intrauterine
development and in the offspring during postnatal life up to the time of
weaning. Accordingly, differences between species in gestation period and
lactation period could generate variability in completed brain size that is
not directly attributable to BMR. One of the initial indicators of a potential
link between maternal physiology and brain development is the finding that
neonatal brain mass is more tightly correlated with gestation period than is
neonatal body mass in placental mammals
(Sacher and Staffeldt,
1974
).
Because of the typical existence of complex biological networks, it is
unwise to rely on individual correlations between variables. For this reason,
it is very useful to employ the technique of partial correlation, as this
permits examination of the correlation between any two variables after the
influence of other variables has been taken into account. An example of this
approach is provided by partial correlations from a four-way analysis
involving adult body mass, adult brain mass, basal metabolic rate and
gestation period for a sample of 51 placental mammal species. [N.B. A similar
analysis for 53 mammal species was reported by Martin
(1996,
1998
). Data for two species
were subsequently found to be questionable, and a repeat analysis with a
reduced sample of 51 species yielded somewhat higher correlations.] It can be
seen from Fig. 11 that, as
expected, there is a strong partial correlation between BMR and body mass.
However, it is also seen that adult brain mass shows substantial partial
correlations with adult body mass, BMR and gestation period, indicating that
all three variables are connected in some way to brain mass. As the maternal
energy hypothesis seemingly provides the only potential explanation for a
connection between brain size and gestation period as well as BMR, this can be
viewed as supporting evidence. Perhaps the most interesting finding, however,
concerns the relationship between BMR and gestation period. If the correlation
of either variable with body mass is considered in isolation, a strong
positive value is obtained. However, when partial correlations are considered,
it emerges that the remaining correlation between BMR and gestation is
negative (Fig. 11). This
suggests that an increase in brain mass may be associated with an increase in
either BMR or gestation period relative to body mass, but that these two
variables do not increase in tandem. Hence, there is an apparent trade-off
between BMR and gestation period in the development of relatively large
brains.
|
Another way to approach the problem is through the use of path analysis,
for which an underlying model of causal relationships between the variables is
explicitly stated. However, there is the drawback that, when applied to
comparative analysis, this technique again raises the issue of having to
distinguish between `dependent' and `independent' variables. A preliminary
path analysis was conducted, although the available dataset (51 species) is
somewhat limited for this kind of approach. Adult brain mass was considered to
be the dependent variable and the three other variables (adult body mass, BMR,
gestation period) were treated as inter-correlated predictor (causal)
variables. Using such a model, a high coefficient of determination was
achieved (r2=0.957;
Sokal and Rohlf, 1981).
Interestingly, the correlation between BMR and brain mass appeared mainly as
the result of a strong direct correlation between the two variables (0.59, for
a total observed correlation of 0.97), indirect `effects' (a term used here in
a non-causal or predictive sense) through gestation period and body mass being
relatively minor (0.38). The converse was true for the correlation between
body mass and brain mass or for the correlation between gestation period and
brain mass. In both cases, direct effects turned out to be minor (0.26, for a
total observed correlation of 0.97, and 0.17, for a total correlation of 0.75,
respectively), the major indirect effect being through BMR in each case (0.58
and 0.39, respectively). This very preliminary analysis confirmed that the
relationship between body mass and brain mass is mainly indirect (here through
its correlation with BMR), but also suggested that the same applies to
gestation period.
It is important to note that these findings for partial correlations and for all of the other analyses discussed thus far were obtained using raw variables. Thus far, no attempt has been made to correct for possible effects of differential phylogenetic relatedness among the species examined in any sample. It is therefore necessary to turn to the issue of potential conflict between such phylogenetic relatedness and the requirement for statistical independence of data points.
The problem of phylogenetic inertia
It is undoubtedly true that failure to consider phylogenetic relationships
might lead to misleading results because of the potential problem of
phylogenetic inertia. At the very simplest level, over-representation of a
group of closely related species in a sample could swamp data from other
taxonomic groups. An apt example is that of the hominoid primates (apes), in
which relatively species-rich lesser apes (gibbons) outnumber the great apes
(chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans). One recent taxonomic revision
(Groves, 2001) recognizes 14
gibbon species allocated to one genus, as opposed to six great ape species
allocated to three genera. As a result, any analysis of scaling relationships
among apes at the species level could be biased by over-representation of
gibbons. Although this problem could be partially offset by restricting
analysis to the generic level, this would reduce the sample size by 80% (from
20 species to four genera). A similar bias can also result in cases where data
are more easily available for certain taxa than for others. For instance, in
scaling analyses involving Old World monkeys, data are often far more readily
available for macaques (Macaca species) than for any of the remaining
21 genera, including the highly speciose genus Cercopithecus.
Phylogenetic inertia can also exert more subtle influences with respect to the
origins of specific adaptations. For instance, in examining possible links
between diet and relative brain size, it is conceivable that a small number of
adaptive shifts from frugivory to folivory might account for any observed
pattern. In the oft-quoted example in which fruit-eating primates are found to
have relatively larger brains than leaf-eating primates, it is important to be
aware of the possibility that leaf-eating species may be descended from a
small number of ancestral nodes and that any correlation with brain size that
is detected may be weakly supported. Hence, it is certainly important to
examine any dataset for potential sources of bias arising from imbalanced
phylogenetic representation.
In the seminal paper by Felsenstein
(1985) on potential bias of
comparative analyses arising from phylogenetic relatedness, one example
specifically cited was a study of brain size scaling in mammals conducted by
the first author (Martin,
1981
). It was argued that the data points for individual species
might not meet the criterion of statistical independence because of their
differential degrees of relatedness within the phylogenetic tree. It is, of
course, conceivable that this might bias the results, although Felsenstein did
not actually demonstrate that it did. It is a moot point whether or not the
degree of change accompanying divergence between sister species is sufficient
to dilute the effects of phylogenetic inertia to the point where conflict with
the requirement of statistical independence is minor and perhaps negligible.
Before pursuing this point, it should be noted that any statistical problems
associated with differential degrees of relatedness applying to comparisons
within species should be massive relative to those associated with
interspecific comparisons, as differential divergence within a single gene
pool over much shorter periods of time must surely entail strong relatedness
effects. Curiously, however, this problem has been relatively neglected in
comparison to the extensive recent literature on potential effects of
phylogenetic inertia in comparisons between species.
Felsenstein's (1985) view
that phylogenetic inertia could be a problem in interspecific comparisons was
driven in part by the results of nested analysis of variance (ANOVA) conducted
with certain variables. Similar results subsequently reported by Harvey and
Pagel (1991
) bolstered a
belief in the necessity for measures to exclude the effects of phylogenetic
inertia. Harvey and Pagel reported ANOVA results for several variables in
placental mammals (adult body mass, neonatal body mass, gestation period, age
at weaning, maximum reproductive lifespan, annual fecundity and annual biomass
production), consistently indicating that there is relatively little variance
at the level of species and genera. Only 8-20% of the variance was found
between species and genera, whereas 80-92% was found at higher taxonomic
levels (between families and orders). On the face of it, these figures do seem
to suggest that there is relatively little evolutionary divergence between
closely related species or even genera and that phylogenetic inertia may hence
be a major problem. Initially, this provided a rationale for several studies
in which allometric analysis was conducted at the level of the subfamily or
above, and subsequently it was invoked as a justification for special
techniques such as calculation of `independent contrasts'. However, it should
be emphasized that the nested ANOVAs reported by Felsenstein
(1985
) and by Harvey and Pagel
(1991
) were all conducted on
the raw data. This approach is questionable because many biological parameters
are highly correlated with body mass and because body mass itself provides a
prime example of phylogenetic inertia, typically differing far less between
closely related species than between distantly related species. For example,
there is a relatively limited range of body mass values within each order of
placental mammals (Fig. 12A),
and this pattern is replicated between families within any given order, such
as primates (Fig. 12B). Because most features are correlated with body mass, it follows that the
distribution of variance in raw values of individual biological variables
(e.g. gestation period or brain mass) will generally exhibit a pattern very
similar to that observed with body mass. Yet the real question of interest in
scaling analyses is whether brain mass, for instance, is tightly constrained
or relatively free to vary at any given body size. In other words, it is the
pattern of variation of residual values rather than that of the raw values
that needs examination. When nested ANOVA was conducted on adult body mass,
gestation period, brain mass and basal metabolic rate for a large sample of
placental mammals, the result obtained with the raw values was similar to that
reported by Felsenstein (1985
)
and by Harvey and Pagel
(1991
). Only 5-16% of the
variance in residual values was found between species and genera, whereas
84-95% was found between families and orders. By contrast, when nested ANOVA
was conducted on the residual values for gestation period, brain mass and
basal metabolic rate, more variance was detected at low taxonomic levels and
there were more pronounced differences between variables. With brain mass,
34.6% of the variance in the residuals was found at the generic and specific
levels, and for basal metabolic rate that figure was even higher, at 45.1%
(Fig. 13). Hence, with these
two variables, analysis conducted at the subfamilial level would have led to
exclusion of one third to almost half of the residual variance. With gestation
period, however, the picture is very different. Only 7.4% of the variance in
the residuals was found at the generic and specific levels, only slightly
greater than the value of 5.4% found with the raw data. Thus, it would seem
that gestation period - in contrast to brain mass and basal metabolic rate -
is, indeed, subject to considerable phylogenetic inertia. Such inertia had
been explicitly proposed by Martin and MacLarnon
(1985
), who noted that
gestation periods generally vary little between species within a genus.
|
|
|
At this point, it is necessary to reflect on the meaning of the catch-all term `phylogenetic inertia', which can encompass several different phenomena (Fig. 14). Global inertia affecting both X and Y values in closely related species, essentially resulting in repeat values, is perhaps the simplest form imaginable, with similar genotypes constraining organisms to fit a similar bodily pattern in all respects. However, it is also possible that inertia will primarily affect only one of the two variables. One possibility would be inertia mainly restricted to Y values, such that differences in body size between closely related species are not accompanied by adjustments in the Y variable (scaling inertia). An example of this might be provided by mammalian gestation periods, although species within a genus also tend to be relatively similar in overall body size. The alternative possibility is inertia mainly restricted to X values (body size inertia). An example of this could be provided by relatively wide variation in metabolic rate between closely related species without any marked divergence in body size. Finally, it is possible to envisage a constrained allometric relationship between the X and Y variables as a form of inertia, assuming that close adherence to a given scaling principle might be an inherited property of closely related species (allometric inertia). From this perspective, marked departures from the scaling principle (i.e. relatively large residual values) can be seen as an escape from the general allometric constraint. Given all of these different possibilities for phylogenetic inertia, it is difficult to see how a single analytical procedure (e.g. the CAIC programme) would effectively deal with them all at once. As is seen in Fig. 14, the different kinds of inertia will exert very different effects on any `independent contrast' values that are calculated. It is particularly important to note that inertia primarily affecting only one variable (scaling inertia or body size inertia) will generate contrast values that deviate from the best-fit line reflecting the allometric relationship. Ironically, only allometric inertia in which both variables are quite tightly constrained to a particular scaling relationship will yield values conforming closely to the best-fit line.
|
The problems involved in attempting to correct for the effects of
phylogenetic inertia using `independent contrasts' can be illustrated with the
practical examples of basal metabolic rate (BMR) and brain size in mammals.
Allometric analyses of these two variables contributed to the maternal energy
hypothesis for brain size scaling in mammals, the starting point for which was
the observation that the value of the scaling exponent () is close to
0.75 in both cases. However, whereas the exponent value of 0.75 persisted for
BMR when scaling was examined using contrast values, the exponent value for
scaling of contrast values for the brain declined to 0.69
(Harvey and Pagel, 1991
).
There are two possible explanations for this result. The first is that the
exponent value of 0.75 obtained for brain size scaling by analysis of the raw
data was an artefact arising from effects of phylogenetic inertia, and that
application of the contrast method removed taxonomic bias to yield the correct
result. The second possibility is that application of the contrast method in
fact generated some distortion in the original relationship reflected by the
raw data. This latter possibility is suggested by a number of findings. For
instance, when analysis of brain size scaling was conducted with overall mean
values calculated for individual mammalian orders, a scaling exponent value
close to 0.75 was determined (Harvey and
Bennett, 1983
). Given that the various orders of placental mammals
diverged between 60 and 90 million years ago, it might be expected that
phylogenetic inertia would exert relatively little effect on the result
obtained for scaling of ordinal mean values. However, it could be argued that
differential degrees of phylogenetic relatedness between species within each
order might have had some influence on the scaling pattern observed. An
alternative approach that circumvents this problem is to take just one species
at random from each order of placental mammals and examine the scaling of
brain size. When this is done repeatedly (analyses conducted by the first
author), the average scaling exponent value found is close to 0.75. There is
therefore a mismatch between the results obtained with raw values at the
ordinal level and that obtained after the calculation of independent contrast
values.
A clue to the reason for the lower exponent for brain size scaling obtained
with contrast values is provided by a comparison with BMR, where the exponent
value obtained is the same both for raw values and for contrast values. As
already noted, with the raw values for BMR, there is far less residual
variation relative to the best-fit line than with the raw values for brain
size. Whereas there is only a fourfold variation in relative BMR, for relative
brain size the range of variation is more than 25-fold. Hence, it is possible
that the greater degree of residual variation in brain size gives rise to
special problems in calculation of independent contrast values. In particular,
it should be noted that there are multiple grade shifts in relative brain size
among mammals. The fact of the matter is that marked variation in residual
values leads to conflict with the simple equations given above in support of
the rationale for calculation of contrast values for use in allometric
analyses. Those equations must be modified to take account of grade shifts
(i.e. different values for the scaling coefficient, k) and any kind
of measurement error (). The revised equations read as follows:
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
The implication of this is that any scaling analysis conducted with
contrast values - e.g. (log Y1 - log
Y2) versus (log X1 - log
X2) - will be complicated by any difference in value for
the scaling coefficient (k1 versus k2)
and by any difference in the error terms (). Hence, greater variation in
the range of the residual values (i.e. a greater range in k values)
will predictably exert an influence on the scaling relationship determined
with contrast values. Furthermore, there will be an unexpectedly undesirable
effect of comprehensive samples. Because closely related species tend to have
similar body sizes (Fig. 12),
in a dataset including marked residual variation any contrast values that are
calculated will tend to be relatively small in comparison to the other terms
in the equation, (log k1-log k2) and
(
1-
2). The noise generated by these
additional terms may well overwhelm the original signal in the raw data. This
effect can be demonstrated with a simple example. If, as explained above, one
species is selected at random from each order of placental mammals, analysis
of the raw data yields an exponent value close to 0.75. If independent
contrasts are calculated for such data, the exponent value remains close to
0.75, and if the regression line is forced through the origin the result
remains essentially the same as with the raw data
(Fig. 15A). However, if the
dataset is increased to include two species instead of one from each mammalian
order, thus increasing the effect of closely related species with relatively
similar body sizes, very different results are obtained. Whereas the raw data
still yield an exponent value close to 0.75, the value yielded for the
contrasts by a regression line forced through the origin is markedly lower and
close to 0.69 (Fig. 15B).
Thus, merely by doubling the sample of species taken at random from each
order, it is possible to replicate the result reported by Harvey and Pagel
(1991
) for the scaling of
brain size to body size using contrast values. As such calculation of
independent contrasts is typically undertaken with no preceding attempt to
identify and separate grades in the dataset, the potentially distorting effect
of grade shifts on contrast calculations is effectively ignored. Given the
evidence summarized here, it may be concluded that the appropriate exponent
value for the scaling of brain size to body size in placental mammals is, in
fact, close to 0.75 and that, in this case at least, calculation of contrast
values can lead to misleading results. The take-home message is that any
analysis that fails to give as much attention to choice of an appropriate
line-fitting technique and to grade shifts as to the potential effects of
phylogenetic inertia is unlikely to yield reliable results.
|
Acknowledgments
Thanks are due to Ann MacLarnon for invaluable collaboration in initial data collection and analysis within the framework of a project funded by the Medical Research Council (UK) in 1982-1985, and for much helpful discussion and advice over the intervening years. We are also grateful to Karin Isler and Andrew Barbour for their crucial work in developing the non-parametric line-fitting method (`rotation line') that figures prominently in this paper. Edna Davion also deserves heartfelt thanks for providing much-needed research assistance and logistic support during the preparation of this paper.
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