Acquisition approximately supports current maintenance and work.
Operational definition
Metabolic state.
A dynamic state in which energetic fluxes continue but selected internal variables remain approximately constant over the chosen observation interval.
Possible stable variables include:
- body mass;
- reserve level;
- ATP concentration;
- redox state;
- population size;
- metabolic throughput.
It is not thermodynamic equilibrium. A living steady state requires continuing flux and dissipation.