A graphical representation to interpret and understand data.
Ecological Pyramids
Ecological Pyramids
A graphical representation to interpret and understand data.
Intro To Ecological Pyramids
What comes to your mind when you think of ecological pyramids? The Great Pyramids of Giza? Well, ecological pyramids are something very different!
Ecological pyramids are used as a graphical representation of the relationships between the organisms living in an ecosystem.
Bars of different sizes make up these pyramids. These bars represent the different trophic levels present in the ecosystem. The bottom bar always represents the producers.The pyramid is than continued by following trophic levels, primary consumers,secondary consumers,and tertiary consumers.While the height of the bars remain constant, the width differs based on the quantity being measured.
There are 3 main ecological pyramids- pyramid of numbers, pyramid of biomass, and pyramid of energy which you will learn about below!
Pyramid Of Numbers
The pyramid of numbers measures the population of each trophic level, meaning the width of each bar is based on the population.
Pyramid Of Biomass
The pyramid of biomass measures the total mass of organisms at each trophic level. This is calculated by multiplying the mass of each organism by its population.
Pyramid Of Energy
The pyramid of energy measures the total amount of energy present at each trophic level and the energy lost between each trophic level (based on Lindeman's Ten Percent Law). This law proposes that only 10% of energy is transferred from a lower trophic level to the next higher trophic level. The remaining 90% energy is lost through respiration, heat, undigested food etc.