Ecology and Energy Flow

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Net production (Algebraic)

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GPP-NPP

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Gross Primary Production (Algebraic)

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NPP + Resp

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Respiration (Algebraic)

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GPP-NPP

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Exploitation Efficiency (Algebraic)

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Amount of food ingested / total amount of biomass available

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Assimilation Efficiency

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Proportion of the ingested biomass that consumers assimilate by digestion. Herbivores typically have an AE of 60–95%, while carnivores have an AE of more than 90%.

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Organism and AE values

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Different organisms have different AE values. For example, wild manatees that eat marine vegetation have a lower AE than those that eat freshwater vegetation.

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Exploitation Efficiency (aka Consumption Efficiency)

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The proportion of the available biomass (prey/plant life) that is ingested by consumers.

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Assimilation Efficiency (algebraic)

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(ingestion-egestion)/ingestion

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Trophic Efficiency

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Depends on efficiencies of consumption, assimilation, and production. Estimated at 10%. Limits the size of food webs/chains/pyramids.

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Production Efficiency

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A measure of how well an organism uses energy to grow, reproduce, and increase its biomass. It's the proportion of assimilated biomass used to produce new consumer biomass.