Dynamic Energy Budget theory unifies the commonalities between organisms as prescribed by the implications of energetics, which link different levels of biological organization (cells, organisms and populations).

The theory presents simple mechanistic rules that describe the uptake and use of energy and nutrients and the consequences for physiological organization throughout an organism's life cycle, including the relationships between energetics and aging and the effects of toxicants.

In this new edition, the theory is broadened to encompass the fluxes of both energy and mass. All living organisms are now covered in a single quantitative framework, the predictions of which are tested against a wide variety of experimental results at the various levels of biological organization. The theory explains many general observations, such as the body size scaling relationships of certain physiological traits, and provides a theoretical basis for the widely used method of indirect calorimetry.

In each case, the theory is developed in elementary mathematical terms, but a more detailed discussion of the methodological aspects of mathematical modelling is also included, making the book suitable for biologists and mathematicians with a broad interest in both fundamental and applied quantitative problems in biology ( )