What are pyramid of numbers and pyramids of biomass?

Answer 1

Pyramids of numbers show the amount of organisms in the chain, and pyramids of biomass show the biomass (mass of living things) of each organism in the chain. It is all shown in a pyramid shape.

Definition of Pyramid of numbers: A pyramid of numbers shows graphically the population of each level in a food chain.

Definition of Pyramid of Biomass: Pyramid of Biomass represents the total biomass at each trophic level.

A pyramid of numbers shows the population size of each species in a food chain.

A pyramid of biomass shows how much ENERGY each animal is getting from its food.

Answer 2

If you look at a pyramid, you see that the base is large and as the layers go up they become smaller.

The base is made of producers: grass, tress, shrubs.

The next layer is of consumers: herbivores (plant eaters) like cattle, buffalo, rabbits, beavers, bugs.This layer is about 90% smaller than the first layer.

The third layer is predators: lions, wolves, foxes eagles, hawks. This layer is 90% smaller than the 2nd layer.

Sometimes a fourth layer is present and contains also predators. The problem with having a fourth layer, is that there may not be enough energy since it contains 90% less of the third layer.

If the first layer has 100% of the energy, the second layer only can carry 10% of the first, the third layer only has 10% of the second. That is why there only a few predators.

Answer 3

I learnt this yesterday in Geography!

The bottom of the pyramid is ALWAYS the producer (plants) and it continues upwards with Primary, Secondary and Tertiary consumers [herbivores, carnivores, omnivores]. The producers ALWAYS have the most energy because they can produce their own food but because consumers need food to survive, they eat and get energy. When herbivores eat plants, they don't get all the energy that the plant has. Same goes for carnivores,etc. They must eat more to gain more. Therefore as you go up the pyramid, energy DECREASES.

In terms of biomass, there must be a balance in nature to keep the pyramid stable. The producers must always have the biggest biomass to sustain life.

Example: 100,000 grass to 1000 rabbits and 1000 rabbits to 200 snakes since the higher the pyramid, the more energy is needed, more is consumed to meet the energy required for an organism to survive.

Therefore as you go up the pyramid, the energy decreases as well as the organisms.

AN IMBALANCE WILL COLLAPSE THE PYRAMID.

Hope you understand xx

Answer 4

To answer this question, I will use owls and mice. Lets start with one owl and one mouse in an ecosystem. The owl needs, lets say 3 mice in order to live. For every 3 mice the owl catches the owl produces an offspring. If the owl lives in an ecosystem that contains lots of mice, and very little competition from other predators for the available food source, in this case the mice, then the population of owls in the area will increase continually until the owls have reached the carrying capacity in that particular ecosystem; they do this by continually feeding off and depleting the population of mice to a point where the owls no longer have enough food to sustain the size of the owl population, as a result the owls will either leave the community (migrate) or die. when this happens there will be an increase in the mice population because there are not as many owls preying on them.

Answer 5

A pyramid of numbers shows the number of individual organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem. A pyramid of biomass illustrates the total biomass (living matter) at each trophic level in an ecosystem, showing the amount of energy present in living organisms. Both types of pyramids illustrate the flow of energy through an ecosystem and the relationship between different trophic levels.

Answer 6

The "interactions" refer to the dependence of each trophic level on the one below it.

Answer 7

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