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  • Ecological Pyramids:: Graphs Which Illustrate The Trophic Levels Ina Community

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    Ecological pyramids graphically represent trophic levels in a community. They are wide at the base with producers and narrow at the top with higher-level consumers. This reflects the loss of energy between trophic levels as each organism is consumed. There are three main types of pyramids: biomass, energy, and numbers. A biomass pyramid shows biomass at each level. An energy pyramid displays energy available in Joules or Calories. A numbers pyramid illustrates the number of organisms. Most energy in a community exists at the lowest trophic level with only 10-20% transferred between levels.

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    Ecological Pyramiids

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    Ecological pyramids graphically represent trophic levels in a community. They are wide at the base with producers and narrow at the top with higher-level consumers. This reflects the loss of energy between trophic levels as each organism is consumed. There are three main types of pyramids: biomass, energy, and numbers. A biomass pyramid shows biomass at each level. An energy pyramid displays energy available in Joules or Calories. A numbers pyramid illustrates the number of organisms. Most energy in a community exists at the lowest trophic level with only 10-20% transferred between levels.

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    181 views15 pages

    Ecological Pyramids:: Graphs Which Illustrate The Trophic Levels Ina Community

    Uploaded by

    tigeress991
    Ecological pyramids graphically represent trophic levels in a community. They are wide at the base with producers and narrow at the top with higher-level consumers. This reflects the loss of energy between trophic levels as each organism is consumed. There are three main types of pyramids: biomass, energy, and numbers. A biomass pyramid shows biomass at each level. An energy pyramid displays energy available in Joules or Calories. A numbers pyramid illustrates the number of organisms. Most energy in a community exists at the lowest trophic level with only 10-20% transferred between levels.

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    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 15

    Ecological Pyramids:

    graphs which illustrate the trophic levels in a community.

    Most ecological pyramids are large at the base and narrow at the top.
    This is because every time that an organism is eaten by the next trophic level, some of the energy is lost as heat. Less Energy

    More Energy

    3 TYPES OF PYRAMIDS:
    1. Pyramid of Biomass 2. Pyramid of Energy 3. Pyramid of Numbers

    Pyramid of Biomass:
    Illustrates the amount of biomass in each trophic level
    Biomass weight is determined after dehydration

    Shows the amount of matter lost between trophic levels. Measured in Kg, grams or pounds

    Pyramid of Biomass

    Pyramid of Biomass

    Pyramid of Biomass
    One problem: They can make a trophic level look like it has more energy than it really does. For example: A bird has a beak, feathers and a skeleton that would count as biomass even though it does not contribute to the overall flow of energy into the next trophic level.

    Pyramid of Energy:
    Shows the energy available at each trophic level.
    The size of the blocks represents the proportion of productivity Measured in Joules or Calories

    Pyramid of Energy:
    Most of the energy available to the community is in the 1st trophic level. Only 10-20% of the energy is available to the next trophic level ( 90% lost)

    Illustration of the number of organisms at each level

    Pyramid of Numbers:

    What kind of Pyramid is this?


    Energy, the trophic levels are measured in Kilocalories

    Human Population Growth


    How can more people be supported on Earth when there is a limited supply of resources? It depends on what they are eating

    Human Population Growth


    It requires 10 times as many crops to feed animals being bred for meat consumption as it would to feed the same amount of people on a vegetarian diet!! The US could feed 800 million people with the grain that livestock eat. US population: 303 million

    So Remember!
    Ecological (Trophic) Pyramids show:
    Energy transfer and more importantly energy loss in an ecosystem. Why there are more herbivores than carnivores in an ecosystem. Why there are more plants than everything else combined (they support all other populations).

    The End
    or is it just the beginning

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