10
%
900
kcal/m²/yr
90
%
10
%
900
kcal/m²/yr
90
%
The Trophic Efficiency Calculator determines the percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next in a food chain. On average, only about 10% of energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next (the "10% rule"), with the rest lost to respiration, heat, excretion, and decomposition.
Trophic efficiency is a key concept in ecosystem ecology that explains why food chains rarely exceed 4-5 levels and why there is more biomass at lower trophic levels. Understanding energy transfer efficiency is essential for fisheries management, agriculture, and ecosystem modeling.
Trophic efficiency is calculated as:
TE (%) = (Energy at Level n / Energy at Level n-1) × 100
Where:
Typical values range from 5-20%, with 10% being a useful rule of thumb. Endotherms (warm-blooded animals) tend to have lower efficiency because they use more energy for thermoregulation.
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10% of energy is transferred; 90% is lost to metabolism, heat, and waste. This is the classic 10% rule.
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20% efficiency is possible with ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) that spend less energy on maintaining body temperature.
The 10% rule (Lindeman efficiency) states that on average only about 10% of the energy at one trophic level is passed to the next level. The remaining 90% is lost as heat through cellular respiration, excreted as waste, or consumed by decomposers. This limits food chain length to 4-5 levels.
Because of the roughly 10% energy transfer between levels, there is insufficient energy to support additional levels after 4-5 transfers. Starting with 10,000 kcal of plant production: herbivores get 1,000, primary carnivores 100, secondary carnivores 10, and tertiary carnivores only 1 kcal.
No. The 10% figure is an average across many ecosystems. Actual efficiency varies from about 5% (endotherm predators) to 20% or more (ectotherm herbivores, aquatic ecosystems). Marine systems often have slightly higher trophic efficiency than terrestrial systems.
Roboculator Team
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