Ecological Pyramid notes

Ecological pyramids show changes in an ecosystem because of:

The law of thermodynamics- Whenever energy is converted into different forms, some is lost to the environment in the form of heat.

Ecological Pyramids are about

Ecological pyramids show the amount of available energy in each organism. There are three main types: Pyramids of numbers Pyramids of biomass Pyramids of energy

Ecological pyramids show changes in an ecosystem because of:

The law of thermodynamics- Whenever energy is converted into different forms, some is lost to the environment in the form of heat.

Ecological Pyramids are about how much energy is available to each organism in a food web
Main idea

Pyramids of numbers Pyramids of biomass

Pyramids of energy

PYRAMIDS OF NUMBERS: Show the number of organisms at each trophic level in a community Larger populations fill larger spaces on the pyramid Usually these pyramids have more producers than consumers, but inverted pyramids are used with decomposers, parasites and some insects.

A number pyramid: 1 hawk

10 song birds

75 Insects

100 Plants

Main idea

Pyramids of numbers

Show the number of organisms at each trophic level in a community Larger populations fill larger spaces on the pyramid

Pyramids of biomass

Pyramids of energy

PYRAMID OF BIOMASS: Shows the quantitative estimate of the total mass or amount of living material. Usually represented in volume or as a weight. Usually show progressive reduction in biomass as you travel up a pyramid. On average there is a 90% reduction of biomass at each level on the pyramid.

A biomass pyramid: .3g hawk .3 3g song birds

3 30g Insects

30 300g Plants

Main idea

Pyramids of numbers

Show the number of organisms at each trophic level in a community Larger populations fill larger spaces on the pyramid

Pyramids of biomass

Shows the quantitative estimate of the total mass or amount of living material. Usually represented in volume or as a weight

Pyramids of energy

PYRAMID OF ENERGY: Shows the energy content (in kilocalories) per square meter per year of the biomass of each trophic level. These also have large bases and progressively get smaller. Shows how energy is lost to the environment as heat the 10% rules states only 10% of usable energy is passed to the next organism.

An energy pyramid: 1 hawk 363.8 Kcal/m/yr. 10 song birds 3638 Kcal/m/yr 75 Insects 36,380 Kcal/m/yr

100 Plants 363,800 Kcal/m/y

If a human only eats 1000 Kcal/m/y of beef, how much grass would be needed to sustain him?

Main idea

Pyramids of biomass

Shows the quantitative estimate of the total mass or amount of living material. Usually represented in volume or as a weight

Pyramids of energy

Shows the energy content (in kilocalories) per square meter per year of the biomass of each trophic level. Shows how energy is lost to the environment as heat the 10% rules states only 10% of usable energy is passed to the next organism.