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Published on: March 20, 2012
Does life consistently maximise energy intensity?
Antoni V Milewski1, Anthony J Mills
1Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa.
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
|March 18, 2010
Summary
Organisms maximize energy intensity, the rate of energy use per Earth surface area, to dominate environments. This biological imperative is driven by acquiring optimal catalytic elements, influencing adaptations and determining dominant life forms like microbes or macrobes.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Ecology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Life's fundamental drive is to maximize energy use.
- Energy intensity (rate of energy use per unit area) is proposed as a key metric for biological success.
- Evolutionary history is secondary to energy intensity in determining dominant organisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and define the theory of biological energy intensity.
- To explain organismal dominance and adaptation through the lens of energy intensity.
- To identify catalytic elements as crucial for maximizing energy intensity.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual framework based on energy intensity and catalysis.
- Analysis of metabolic pathways and industrial processes.
- Prediction of dominant organisms based on environmental nutrient availability and organismal strategies.
Main Results:
- Dominant organisms maximize energy intensity, defined as joules per square meter per year.
- Optimal catalytic element composition (C, H, O, N, S, etc.) is critical for maximizing energy intensity.
- Microbes dominate nutrient-rich environments; macrobes dominate catabolically dystrophic environments; microbes dominate anabolically dystrophic environments.
Conclusions:
- Energy intensity is the primary criterion for biological competition and dominance.
- Catalytic elements and their acquisition are the ultimate basis for adaptation.
- Organisms maximize energy intensity by converting chemical energy into electromagnetic energy circuits, promoting catalysis.
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