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Re-calibrating the snake palaeothermometer

Author

Listed:
  • Anastassia M. Makarieva

    (Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute
    Ecological Complexity and Modeling Laboratory, University of California)

  • Victor G. Gorshkov

    (Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute
    Ecological Complexity and Modeling Laboratory, University of California)

  • Bai-Lian Li

    (Ecological Complexity and Modeling Laboratory, University of California)

Abstract

Arising from: J. J. Head et al. Nature 457, 715–717 (2009)10.1038/nature07671 ; Head et al. reply In a recent study1 a new proxy for palaeoclimate reconstructions was proposed on the basis of a theoretical approach linking the largest body sizes to ambient temperature in extant taxa of air-breathing poikilotherms2,3. The value of the largest fossil snake’s body length was used to estimate the mean annual temperature (MAT) for the Palaeocene neotropics of ΔT = 3.8–7.2 °C above the modern value1. Here we argue that the reported temperature difference is a twofold overestimate and obtain a corrected estimate of ΔT = 1.9–3.7 °C using the taxon-specific metabolic scaling exponent α = 0.17 for boid snakes. The importance of using relevant taxon-specific information in case of one-taxon-based temperature reconstructions1 while leaving the theoretically derived generic α values (such as α = 0.33 used by Head et al.1) for broad inter-taxonomic analyses2,3 is emphasized.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastassia M. Makarieva & Victor G. Gorshkov & Bai-Lian Li, 2009. "Re-calibrating the snake palaeothermometer," Nature, Nature, vol. 460(7255), pages 2-3, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:460:y:2009:i:7255:d:10.1038_nature08223
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08223
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