TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL EFFICIENCY

Ecological efficiency describes the efficiency with which energy is transferred as biomass from one trophic level to the next. It is determined by a summation of all the  efficiencies relating to organismic resource acquisition and assimilation in an ecosystem.

NOTE -Biodiversity is directly proportional to ecological efficiency .

1.Net production efficiency (NPE) measures how efficiently each trophic level uses and incorporates the energy from its food into biomass to fuel the next trophic level.

2.(A/I) The efficiency by which animals convert the food they ingest into energy for growth and reproduction is called assimilation efficiency. (Proportion of ingested biomass that consumers assimilate ).

JUNE 2017 CSIR NET ONE QUESTION WAS BASED ON THIS -

Herbivores assimilate  15 -80 percent of the plant material they ingest.

Carnivores have higher assimilation efficiency (about 80 percent) than do terrestrial herbivores (5 to 20 percent).

3.Consumption efficiency -Proportion of available biomass that is ingested by consumers .

4.(P/A) Production Efficiency-Production efficiency is the amount of energy that is allocated to animal production, including growth of the animal and animal reproduction. It is determined primarily by the metabolism of the animal.

5.Production to Consumption Index: ( Production/consumption; P/I) A measure of the efficiency with which energy is made available to the next group of consumersIndicates how much energy consumed by the animal is converted into production

Note-1.In case of insects =High production efficiency,Low assimilation efficiency
          2.HUMANS=Low production efficiency and high assimilation efficiency 
          3.Homeotherms: assimilation (A/I) is high: low production (P/A); very low (P/I) production to consumption ratio
            Poikilotherms: assimilaiton (A/I) :production (P/A); much higher (P/I) than that of homeotherms

(Homeotherms have a very poor production efficiency (P/A) giving a very low production to consumption ratio (P/I), and this is the opposite for poikilotherms )

Note- Endotherms have high DE( digestion efficiency) that is assimilation/consumption .

Ectotherms have low EE( ecological efficiency)
That is production/ consumption.

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