Ecological Pyramids Chapter 2 Section 2b

Learning Targets 1. I can model the use of ecological pyramids

Ecological Pyramids Another model that shows how energy flows through ecosystems is the Ecological Pyramid Ecological Pyramids are models used to represent trophic levels in ecosystems There are 3 different ecological pyramids: Pyramid of Energy Pyramid of Biomass Pyramid of Numbers

Pyramid of Energy In an ecosystem, only 10% of the energy from each organism in a food chain is actually passed on when consumed for food 90% of the energy is lost through cell processes and as heat Pyramids of Energy model this effect on an ecosystem

Pyramid of Energy In a Pyramid of Energy, each level represents the amount of energy that is available to that trophic level. With each step up the pyramid, energy decreases

Pyramid of Biomass Ecologist also study how biomass is effect at each trophic level using a Pyramid of Biomass Biomass – the total mass of living matter at each trophic level As you move up the pyramid, there is less biomass because there is less energy available at that trophic level

Pyramid of Biomass Tertiary Consumer Secondary Consumer Primary Consumer Producer

Pyramid of Numbers The last type of pyramid is the Pyramid of Numbers, which represents the number of organisms present at each trophic level The relative number of organisms at each trophic level decreases because there is less energy available to support the organisms

Ecological Pyramids