University of Michigan: Global Change: The Flow of Energy: Higher Trophic Levels

This lesson addresses the following questions: What is the efficiency with which energy is converted from trophic level to trophic level? What are the differences between assimilation efficiency, net production efficiency, and ecological efficiency? How do ecosystems differ in the amount of biomass or number of organisms present at any point in time, and generated over time, at each trophic level? How much energy is available to humans, and how much do we use? What are the main controls on ecosystem function? Includes link to review questions at end.