Ecological Energy Relationships at the Population Level

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Abstract
Ecological (E), growth (G) and population (P) efficiency were evaluated for laboratory Daphnia pulex populations. Three concepts of efficiency are theoretically intertranslatable. E efficiency is the ratio of yield from a prey population to the energy consumption of that population. It has a maximum of 12-1/2%, agreeing with field estimates. P efficiency takes account of the effect of predation on the maintenance cost of the standing crop of prey. It is maximized by taking as prey animals with low reproductive value, low life expectancy and low growth rate. Maintenance cost of a population is inversely related to the growth efficiency of the individuals in the population.