[TML] Plants, animals and characters

[Robert O'Connor]

Douglas Knapp wrote:
> Eating, I need some help here but the roots of the energy system are:
> the sun, geothermal and ????

Chemautotrophism - energy for respiration comes from the breakdown of 
'inorganic' compounds.

> Also some data here about breeding rates,
> speed of running and efficiency of the life form.

Allometric concepts are useful here.
It has been shown that a variety of parameters - metabolic rate, 
reproduction rate, etc. scale with body mass.

The book 'Scaling: Why Is Animal Size So Important?' by Scmidt-Nielsen 
is a useful introductory reference to the subject.

> So thoughts anyone? What did I miss?

Have a look at the following link for a few things to think about.
http://www.freelancetraveller.com/features/science/xbio101/index.html

Leonard mentioned biomes, which are discussed in part here:
http://www.freelancetraveller.com/features/science/xbio101/xbio4.html


Robert O'Connor
medico, gamer