Appendix S1: Dataset of the present study and selection criteria
In addition to the selection criteria mentioned in the main paper (fish in the study needed to be post-larval, unstressed, unfed,
etc.), we only accepted data from studies in which the body-size range that was used to determine b was >5% of the total ontogenetic
body mass range of a given species. Caveats to this criteria were made, however, in the case of some relatively large species in which
size ranges spanning less than 5% of the total ontogenetic size range were still substantial (e.g. Cyprinus carpio, the dataset for which
covered two orders of magnitude but still only comprised about 3% of the total ontogenetic size range of this species). Ordinary least
squares regression between the size range encompassed by each study (ln body size range in g) and b showed no effect of size range
on estimates of b (r2 = 0.037). Furthermore, the residuals of this plot were evenly distributed, indicating that the variance in b was
independent of the size range used in specific studies.
The ideal dataset for a study of this nature would be one that covers the total ontogenetic size range for a large number of
species. Unfortunately, this does not exist, and the size range in most studies of the scaling of metabolic rate in fish cover only a small
proportion of ontogeny (<10%). With such imperfect data, we needed to ensure that there was no biased coverage of particular
ontogenetic phases among the lifestyle groups being compared. This is potentially important because b is known to change during
ontogeny in several species of animals, including many fish species (although for fish, it is mainly the larval stage that has been
observed to scale differently than the juvenile and adult stages (Post and Lee 1996), and in our study we did not include data collected
for larvae). Among the studies included in the present analysis which provided information on the lifestages that were examined, the
percent of studies that included only adults was similar between lifestyle groupings and showed no clear pattern that could explain the
observed trends with regard to b and L (pelagic = 62.5%; benthopelagic = 45.45%; benthic = 34.48%; bathyal = 57.14%), as was the
case for the percent of studies that included only juveniles (pelagic = 12.5%; benthopelagic = 18.18%; benthic = 17.24%; bathyal =
0.00%), and those which included data for both adults and juvenile (pelagic = 25.0%; benthopelagic = 36.36%; benthic = 48.28%;
bathyal = 42.86%). We therefore assume that the differences between lifestyle groupings for b and L were not being biased by
different representations on lifestages between groupings. The pelagic lifestyle grouping did contain a larger mean midpoint body
mass (873.54±256.10 g) than the other groups (benthopelagic = 409.60±108.74 g; benthic = 210.64±43.99 g; bathyal = 194.28±91.81
g; ANOVA, Tukey-Kramer, p = 0.0006), but differences in body mass among the benthopelagic, benthic, and bathyal groups were not
significantly different. It is unlikely that the differences in body size between the pelagic lifestyle group and the other groups affected
the results because increased body mass generally results in lower mass-specific metabolic rates. In spite of this, even though the
pelagic lifestyle group contained the largest species (in terms of body mass), it still had the highest values for L among all groups (i.e.
if the mean midpoint body mass of the pelagic group was decreased, L would likely be even higher).
A modification of the acceptance criteria (in terms of the fish being relatively unstressed) was necessary to estimate resting
metabolic rates of obligate ram ventilators (tunas and dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus) that require a constant flow of water across
the gills for blood gas exchange (normally achieved by swimming). In these species, we accepted data from studies that applied
anaesthetics or neuromuscular blockers (potential physiological stressors) to immobilize the fish, coupled with irrigation of the gills
with a flow of water during the measurement of oxygen consumption (Brill 1987; Benetti et al. 1995). These measures were deemed
acceptable as they gave values similar to those obtained by extrapolating measurements of metabolism at several swim speeds to that
at zero activity (Brill 1987; Dewar and Graham 1994). Selection criteria for metabolic data on bathyal species were also relaxed to
account for the near-impossibility of avoiding some degree of stress in the fish during measurements of oxygen consumption –
individuals raised to the surface are often in poor condition due to changes in external pressure, while in situ measurements are
sometimes performed under potential hypoxia (due to the oxygen consumption of the fish in closed respirometers at depths where
oxygen concentrations may already be low). Still, data for bathyal species allowed us to see if any trends present across pelagic,
benthopelagic, and benthic lifestyles could be extended to the limited data available for deep-sea fishes. For one bathyal species
(Coryphaenoides armatus), data from two separate studies were combined to produce an overall estimate for b (after adjustment to a
common temperature of 5oC).
Table S1. Dataset used in the present study. The data are as found in the original references (after unit conversion), and have not been adjusted for differences in temperature.
Information on lifestyle and swimming mode categories were obtained from www.fishbase.org.
Order
Species
Lifestyle
Swimming Mode
Min. Mass
(g)
Max. Mass
(g)
Temp.
(oC)
b
L
ref
(mg kg-1 h-1)
Clupeiformes
Alosa sapidissima
Pelagic
carangiform
465
1762
Anguilliformes
Anguilla anguilla
Benthic
anguilliform
10
480
17.5
0.695
111.222
1
18
1.291
19.829
2
Scorpaeniformes
Artediellus atlanticus
Benthic
.
0.7
51.4
0
0.920
14.638
3
Scorpaeniformes
Artediellus uncinatus
Benthic
.
0.1
577
-1.5
0.909
25.680
4
Perciformes
Austrolycus depressiceps
Benthic
.
1
12.18
4
0.957
9.221
5
Osmeriformes
Bathylagus antarcticus
Bathyal
.
13
53
0.5
0.889
20.350
6
Gadiformes
Boreogadus saida
Benthic
subcarangiform
0.7
122.1
-1.5
0.830
44.198
4
Pleuronectiformes
Brachirus aspilos
Benthic
.
1.5
100
28
0.682
103.844
7
Clupeiformes
Brevoortia tyrannus
Pelagic
carangiform
6.98
80.86
25
0.816
328.576
8
Cypriniformes
Carassius auratus
Benthic
subcarangiform
10
450
10
0.882
14.213
9
Cypriniformes
Catostomus commersonii
Benthic
.
30
295
20
0.903
62.861
10
Perciformes
Chaenocephalus aceratus
Benthic
.
566
2160
1
0.780
26.976
11
Cypriniformes
Cirrhinus mrigala
Benthopelagic
subcarangiform
5
198
21.5
0.796
88.062
12
Characiformes
Colossoma macropomum
Benthopelagic
carangiform
0.6
2086
30
0.640
126.971
13
Salmoniformes
Coregonus albula
Pelagic
.
14.1
76.2
15
0.712
145.194
14
Perciformes
Coryphaena hippurus
Pelagic
thunniform
1395
4125
25
0.384
192.515
15
Gadiformes
Coryphaenoides armatus
Bathyal
subcarangiform
100
1500
5
0.973
5.848
16,1
7
Mugiliformes
Crenimugil labrosus
Benthic
subcarangiform
3
20
18
0.976
171.638
18
Scorpaeniformes
Cyclopterus lumpus
Benthopelagic
.
0.16
2800
11
0.821
58.409
19
Pleuronectiformes
Cynoglossus sp
Benthic
anguilliform
1.5
150
28
0.734
117.660
7
79
1370
25.1
0.781
86.287
20
.
5
68.5
20
0.454
105.376
21
Bathyal
.
1
13.8
0.5
0.946
56.546
6
Eleginops maclovinus
benthopelagic
.
6.05
54.60
10
0.786
47.220
5
Gadiformes
Eleginus gracilis
Benthic
subcarangiform
100
200
2.5
0.700
47.598
22
Ophidiiformes
Encheliophis homei
Benthic
anguilliform
0.16
7.5
30
0.730
125.955
23
Perciformes
Euthynnus affinis
Pelagic
thunniform
540
2153
25
0.496
337.855
24
Gadiformes
Gadus macrocephalus
Benthic
subcarangiform
17
2400
6.5
0.787
49.841
25
Gadiformes
Gadus morhua
Benthopelagic
subcarangiform
220
2880
3
0.791
52.770
26
Gasterosteiformes
Gasterosteus aculeatus
Benthopelagic
.
0.29
3.29
5
168.784
27
Perciformes
Genyagnus monopterygius
Benthic
.
54
276
17
0.808
19.510
28
Perciformes
Glossogobius giuris
Benthopelagic
anguilliform
8.3
20
22
0.556
172.067
29
Perciformes
Gymnelis viridis
Benthic
anguilliform
0.1
147
-1.5
0.815
16.255
4
Scorpaeniformes
Gymnocanthus tricuspis
Benthic
.
0.1
577
-1.5
0.909
25.680
4
Mycotphiformes
Gymnoscopelus braueri
Bathyal
.
1.5
21.3
0.5
1.029
36.486
6
Mycotphiformes
Gymnoscopelus opisthopterus
Bathyal
.
7.1
40
0.5
0.942
29.973
6
Perciformes
Harpagifer bispinis
Benthic
.
4.48
9.03
4
0.892
15.458
5
Perciformes
Harpagifer georgianus
Benthic
.
0.2
8
3
0.768
54.062
30
Pleuronectiformes
Hippoglossoides platessoides
Benthic
anguilliform
30
1000
3
0.794
16.301
31
Cypriniformes
Cyprinus carpio
Benthopelagic
subcarangiform
Clupeiformes
Dorosoma cepedianum
Pelagic
Mycotphiformes
Electrona antarctica
Perciformes
1.008
Scorpaeniformes
Icelus spatula
Benthic
.
0.1
577
-1.5
0.909
25.680
4
Siluriformes
Ictalurus nebulosus
Benthic
subcarangiform
30
200
10
0.994
34.018
10
Perciformes
Katsuwonus pelamis
Pelagic
thunniform
300
5000
25
0.563
269.104
32
Perciformes
Kuhlia sandvicensis
Benthopelagic
.
15
80
23
0.790
63.567
33
Cypriniformes
Labeobarbus aeneus
Benthopelagic
.
7.4
325.5
20
0.610
59.318
34
Perciformes
Lepomis gibbosus
Benthopelagic
.
1.8
66.5
25
0.710
38.073
35
Perciformes
Lepomis macrochirus
Benthopelagic
.
1.4
116
25
0.717
34.111
35
Pleuronectiformes
Limanda limanda
Benthic
anguilliform
62.4
500
10
0.782
28.372
36
Mugiliformes
Liza dumerili
Benthic
subcarangiform
4.5
212
23
0.900
157.746
37
Mugiliformes
Liza richardsonii
Benthic
subcarangiform
5.2
33.8
18
0.852
150.762
37
Perciformes
Lycodes eudipleurostictus
Benthic
anguilliform
3.3
226.1
0
0.890
10.684
3
Perciformes
Lycodes mucosus
Benthic
anguilliform
0.1
147
-1.5
0.815
16.255
4
Perciformes
Lycodes pallidus
Benthic
anguilliform
3.2
65.2
0
0.750
9.924
3
Perciformes
Lycodes reticulatus
Bathyal
anguilliform
3.0
377.3
0
1.040
25.905
3
Perciformes
Lycodes seminudus
Bathyal
anguilliform
40.3
228.7
0
0.840
12.781
3
Perciformes
Lycodes turneri
Benthic
anguilliform
0.1
147
-1.5
0.815
16.255
4
Perciformes
Macrazoarces americanus
Benthic
anguilliform
0.2
1500
8
0.834
70.456
19
Osmeriformes
Mallotus villosus villosus
Pelagic
.
12.6
54.1
25
0.864
114.203
38
Lophiiformes
Melanocetus johnsoni
Bathyal
.
1.2
99.9
5
1.104
12.948
39
Pleuronectiformes
Microstomus kitt
Benthic
anguilliform
2.19
271.24
10
0.717
39.036
36
Mugiliformes
Mugil cephalas
Benthopelagic
subcarangiform
12.2
920
23
0.855
177.570
37
Scorpaeniformes
Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus
Benthic
.
15.3
341
10
0.688
48.111
40
Scorpaeniformes
Myoxocephalus scorpius
Benthic
.
0.1
577.0
-1.5
0.909
43.596
4
Siluriformes
Mystus cavasius
Benthic
anguilliform
4.0
56
29
0.662
243.907
41
Perciformes
Notothenia angustifrons
Benthic
.
0.1
44
3
0.838
82.390
30
Perciformes
Notothenia neglecta
Benthopelagic
.
30.0
2000
0.6
0.785
53.049
42
Perciformes
Notothenia nudifrons
Benthic
.
0.2
36
3
0.902
73.790
30
Perciformes
Notothenia rossii
Benthic
.
300.0
900
0.6
0.958
38.984
42
Salmoniformes
Onchorhynchus mykiss
Benthopelagic
subcarangiform
2.7
1343
11
0.789
82.767
43
Salmoniformes
Oncorhynchus nerka
Pelagic
subcarangiform
5
2000
15
0.847
54.195
44
Perciformes
Oreochromis alcalicus grahami
Benthopelagic
.
0.8
10.2
37
0.748
685.443
45
Perciformes
Oreochromis mossambicus
Benthopelagic
carangiform
10
150
28
0.656
116.572
47
Perciformes
Oreochromis niloticus
Benthopelagic
carangiform
47
1720
25
0.754
45.797
46
Perciformes
Pagothenia borchgrevinki
Pelagic
.
13
130
0
0.825
53.054
48
Perciformes
Paranotothenia magellanica
Pelagic
.
66.68
244.7
4
0.814
14.860
5
Pleuronectiformes
Platichthys flesus
Benthic
anguilliform
6
800
5
0.827
19.483
49
Pleuronectiformes
Pleuronectes platessa
Benthic
anguilliform
2
326
14
0.782
63.163
50
Perciformes
Pseudocrenilabrius multicolor
Benthic
.
0.9
3.6
27
0.690
248.870
51
Salmoniformes
Salmo trutta
Pelagic
subcarangiform
78.0
400.0
10
0.877
72.401
10
Salmoniformes
Salvelinus alpinus
Benthopelagic
subcarangiform
0.2
286.0
6
0.748
32.635
52
Salmoniformes
Salvelinus fontinalis
Benthic
subcarangiform
26
280
20
1.036
148.618
10
Perciformes
Sander vitreus
Benthopelagic
.
74
674
20
0.882
69.587
53
Scorpaeniformes
Scorpaena guttata
Benthic
.
39
743
18
0.848
34.713
54
Scorpaeniformes
Sebastolobus alascanus
Bathyal
.
113
883
5
0.674
8.456
54
Perciformes
Seriola lalandi
Pelagic
carangiform
10.3
2340
20
0.632
76.256
55
Pleuronectiformes
Synaptura aspilos
Benthic
anguilliform
2.5
80
28
0.682
110.918
7
Gadiformes
Theragra chalcogramma
Benthopelagic
subcarangiform
6
300
5.5
0.778
67.534
56
Perciformes
Thunnus albacares
Pelagic
thunniform
585
3890
25
0.573
203.326
24
Perciformes
Trachurus trachurus
Pelagic
carangiform
1.41
384
13
0.725
53.652
57
Perciformes
Trematomus hansoni
Benthic
.
0.1
90
3
0.727
32.180
30