GURPS: Ecosystems and Evolution

[Vaevictis Asmadi]

Originally Posted by MagiMaster

Another question I need to write down: If you have four animals, A consumes its body weight per day, B is just like A but has trait X and consumes 3/4 its body weight, C is just like A but has the (non-conflicting) trait Y and also consumes 3/4, and D has traits X and Y. How much should D consume?

The easy answer would be (3/4)^2, but it's probably also wrong. Trait X and trait Y are presumably biological traits, and how they interact with each other in the body of animal D depends entirely on the animal's physiology and what exactly the two traits do to the animal's metabolism, and to its other bodily functions that ultimately impact its energy budget. I think the question is just too complex to answer, except by conducting in-depth studies of real animals.