Energy flow through marine ecosystems: confronting transfer efficiency

Transfer efficiency is a key parameter describing ecosystem structure and function and is used to estimate fisheries production; however, it is also one of the most uncertain parameters.

Questions remain about how habitats, food resources, fishing pressure, spatiotemporal scales, as well as temperature, primary production, and other climate drivers impact transfer efficiency.

Direct measurements of transfer efficiency are difficult, but observations of marine population abundances, diets, productivity, stable isotope analysis, and models integrating these constraints can provide transfer efficiency estimates.

Recent estimates suggest that transfer efficiency is more variable than previously thought, compounding uncertainties in marine ecosystem predictions and projections.

Increased understanding of factors contributing to variation in transfer efficiency will improve projections of fishing and climate change impacts on marine ecosystems.