Power and Efficiency in Living Systems

Featured Image

Why is it important?

It is traditionally thought that trade-offs (negative correlations) between energetic power and efficiency, as observed in non-living physical systems, also apply to living systems. However, I show that, although these trade-offs often occur for resource-supply systems, they do not for resource-use systems that instead often show synergy (positive correlations) between power and efficiency. In addition, I argue that increased power is associated with evolutionary fitness, whereas increased efficiency is associated with adaptiveness, thus reconciling two conflicting views about the energetics of evolution. Evolutionary maximization of power versus efficiency depends on body size and ecological context.