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Why is the movement of energy from plants to herbivores to carnivores represented by a pyramid?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
The pyramid is a representation of the relative number of organisms of a type that can be supported by the underlying ecosytem. Plants are not only the most numerous they represent the organisms that have the lowest energy requirements (keeping the pyramid as simple as possible) as they are the producers. It requires 10X the energy needed by a plant to produce the same amount of mass in the herbivore that consumes it and 10X again the mass of the herbivore to sustain the predator that consumes it.
In the livestock industry the rule is 10 pounds of hay will product 1 pound of weight gain. Of course, much more energy is expended by animals in the
wild for various reasons. Predators expend the most energy and for that reason the number of predators that can be supported is substantially lower than the number of plants that can be supported by the ecosystem.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
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Which is larger in a energy pyramid consumers carnivores producers or herbivores?
There is a good reason why there are more herbivores than carnivores. When a carnivore eats an herbivore, it only absorbs a small amount of energy from the animal because herbivores only absorb a small amount of energy from the plants they eat. Therefore, a carnivore must eat more herbivores to receive the energy they need to survive.
Where on the energy pyramid will you find the following?
from top to bottom of the pyramid: tertiary consumers... and so on. secondary consumers (carnivores) primary consumers (herbivores) primary producers (like grass)
What makes up the base of any energy pyramid?
eaither producer's carnivores herbivores or scavenger's
What are the components in an ecological pyramid?
Primary producers (plants, algae) decomposers (worms, fungi) Primary consumers (herbivores) Secondary consumers (carnivores) Trimary consumers (carnivores) usually stops there because of energy loss
Which level of a food pyramid contains the least amount of the original energy provided by the sun?
A) Producers B) Herbivores C) Carnivores D) Top predators
What is represented by am energy pyramid?
The energy in an ecosystem/food chain. The bottom is bigger because plants get the most energy, and they pass it on to herbivores when they are eaten, and so on and so on.
Are consumer found at the top or bottom of energy pyramid?
yes because energy pyramid is made up of three things. Those things are producers, herbivores, carnivores. It is at the top of the pyramid because the pyramid has an order to follow. It looks something like this: carnivore herbivore producer It can't go any other way.
Where do herbivores go in the trophic pyramid?
Autotrophs, being the producers in the food chain, are at the extreme bottom of the food pyramid. Then the herbivores, which are the primary consumers, follow the autotrophs. The canivores come in the next level, that is the third
A diagram that shows energy moves through an ecosystem is called?
Energy transfer can be represented by the food chain. The sun's light is acquired by plants and converted to energy by photosynthesis. Herbivores (plant eating organisms) get this energy by consuming plants. The organisms of herbivores convert the nutrients from plants into useful energy by respiration. The herbivores are consumed by other organisms, for instance carnivores and omnivores (such as humans) to provide energy for their survival.Some organisms (such as some reptiles and fish) are ectothermic and require external heat sources to survive.
What are the five tropic levels to an ecological pyramid?
The five trophic levels in an ecological pyramid are: 1) producers (plants and other autotrophs), 2) primary consumers (herbivores that eat plants), 3) secondary consumers (carnivores that eat herbivores), 4) tertiary consumers (carnivores that eat other carnivores), and 5) decomposers (organisms that break down dead organic matter).
What is the second level of the energy pyramid?
Herbivores
Why do you need more plants than animals in the food pyramid?
Other than fungi, plants don't eat other plants so you need animals in the food chain. This includes herbivores to eat the plants. Carnivores to eat the herbivores. Omnivores eat both plants and animals.
