Organism Mass from Length

The function estimates mass (g) from length (m) for a variety of taxa.

mass_from_length(l, taxon)

Arguments

l

numeric vector of length (m). Can be 1 or more values.
Snout-vent length is used for amphibians and reptiles, except turtles where length is carapace length.

taxon

character taxon of organism, current choices: "insect", "lizard", "salamander", "frog", "snake", "turtle".

Value

numeric mass (g).

Details

All models follow (m = a l^b) with mass in grams and length in meters.

• Lizards: Meiri (2010) :
  
  \(a = 16368.17\)
  \(b = 3.022\)

• Salamanders: Pough (1980) :
  
  \(a = 13654.4\)
  \(b = 2.94\)

• Frogs: Pough (1980) :
  
  \(a = 181197.1\)
  \(b = 3.24\)

• Snakes: Pough (1980) :
  
  \(a = 723.6756\)
  \(b = 3.02\)

• Turtles: Pough (1980) :
  
  \(a = 93554.48\)
  \(b = 2.69\)

• Insects: Sample et al. (1993) :
  
  \(a = 806.0827\)
  \(b = 2.494\)

References

Meiri S (2010). “Length - weight allometries in lizards.” Journal of Zoology, 281(3), 218-226. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00696.x .

Pough FH (1980). “The Advantages of Ectothermy for Tetrapods.” The American Naturalist, 115(1), 92–112. ISSN 00030147, 15375323.

Sample BE, Cooper RJ, Greer RD, Whitmore RC (1993). “Estimation of Insect Biomass by Length and Width.” The American Midland Naturalist, 129(2), 234–240. ISSN 00030031, 19384238. doi:10.2307/2426503 .

See also

Other allometric functions: proportion_silhouette_area_shapes(), proportion_silhouette_area(), surface_area_from_length(), surface_area_from_mass(), surface_area_from_volume(), volume_from_length()

Examples

  mass_from_length(l     = 0.04,
                   taxon = "insect")
#> [1] 0.2629767
  mass_from_length(l     = 0.04,
                   taxon = "lizard")
#> [1] 0.9759452
  mass_from_length(l     = 0.04,
                   taxon = "salamander")
#> [1] 1.060056
  mass_from_length(l     = 0.04,
                   taxon = "frog")
#> [1] 5.355816
  mass_from_length(l     = 0.04, 
                   taxon = "snake")
#> [1] 0.04342753
  mass_from_length(l     = 0.04, 
                   taxon = "turtle")
#> [1] 16.24075