Let's break this down:
- B: Metabolic rate
- b0: Empirically derived and taxon-specific normalization constant
- m: Body mass
- E: Average activation energy for biochemical reactions of metabolism
- T: Body temperature (°K)
- k: Boltzmann constant
As presented mathematically above, a taxon's metabolic rate is dependent on its body mass, temperature, and 3 constants. Notably, temperature's presence as an exponential scalar in this function signifies its potential to significantly dictate any given taxon's metabolic rate. To understand how similar metabolic rate change trends may be to climatological trends, metabolic rates were computed for every day with weather data since 1961 at each of our chosen weather stations. Daily metabolic rates and air temperatures were averaged at 5-year intervals beginning with 1980-1985, to provide clearer insights into any interannual trends. A reference period (1961-1990, WMO standard reference period) was also used to establish baseline means for both temperature and metabolism at each station. Temperature and metabolism means were then plotted, including the reference period as a dashed line.