Final answer:
Scaling tardigrades to the size of a cat would likely impact their survival due to changes in biological scaling laws which would affect their metabolism and structural integrity.
Step-by-step explanation:
If tardigrades were to grow to the size of an average cat, their survival rate under unchanged conditions would likely decrease due to fundamental changes in biological scaling laws. Their bodily functions would be impacted by size scaling, which affects metabolism, temperature regulation, and the physics of their structures. Square-cube law is one of the most well-known scaling laws, indicating that as an object grows in size, its volume increases faster than its surface area, potentially leading to issues with heat dissipation and structural integrity in larger-sized tardigrades.
Specific features of tardigrades that might be affected include their cryptobiosis, a response to extreme environmental stress. This mechanism might not be as effective if their size increased due to the increased metabolic demands and slower diffusion rates. Furthermore, their cuticle-covered bodies and muscular pharynx used for feeding might not function as efficiently at a larger scale.
Examples of scaling laws in biology include the aforementioned square-cube law, Kleiber's law relating metabolic rates to body size, and the allometric scaling rules that describe how different biological attributes change with size among related species.