Cambridge O Level Biology · Syllabus 5090 · Relationships of Organisms with One Another and with the Environment
Trophic Transfer Efficiency
What is Trophic Transfer Efficiency?
The proportion of the energy available at one trophic level that becomes new biomass in the next trophic level, usually expressed as a percentage. It is low, often around ten per cent, because not all of the food organism is eaten, some eaten material is egested undigested, energy is released in respiration and transferred to the environment as thermal energy, energy is used for movement and other life processes, some is lost in excretory products, and some organisms die without being eaten. The result is that less energy remains available for transfer to the next trophic level.
This definition is part of the Relationships of Organisms with One Another and with the Environment chapter in Cambridge O Level Biology.