What is a pyramid of Biomass to do with a pyramid of Numbers?

Answer 1

Pyramids of Numbers show the numbers of species involved in a simple food chain. The problem with pyramids of Numbers is that in some events the pyramid is not pyramid shaped. For example, When using aphids and tomato plants as an example, there will be hundreds of aphids feeding on the tomato plant, giving the pyramid an inverse-pyramid shape. Pyramids of Biomass, however, do not take into account the numbers involved, but rather the mass. This is not only sometimes of a higher scientific value, but in most cases this will form a pyramid.

Answer 2

a pyramid of energy flow exhibits how much energy is moved from one trophic level to the next. The first trophic level consisting of the producers always has the most energy. The amount of energy decreases for each increasing level of the energy pyramid.

On the other hand, a biomass pyramid demonstrates how much available dry weight each level of the trophic level will have. This is not always necessarily the same as the energy pyramid. For example, in an oceanic environment the zooplankton have a higher mass then the phytoplankton which the phytoplankton have a greater turn over ( reproduce quickly ) and as a result the zooplankton have more to feed and will have a greater biomass than the phytoplankton although the phytoplankton have a greater energy flow than the zooplankton.

Answer 3

A pyramid of biomass represents the total amount of living organic matter at each trophic level in an ecosystem, measured in grams per unit area. A pyramid of numbers, on the other hand, illustrates the number of individual organisms at each trophic level. They both show the flow of energy through an ecosystem but provide different perspectives on the structure of the ecosystem.