what are energy pyramids?
Answers
An energy pyramid (sometimes called a trophic pyramid or an ecological pyramid) is a graphical representation, showing the flow of energy at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
The width of each bar represents the units of energy available within each trophic level; the height is always the same. The flow of energy moves through the layers of the energy pyramid from the bottom-up, and is gradually reduced as energy is used up by the organisms at each level
The base of the energy pyramid indicates the energy available within primary producers. Primary producers, also known as autotrophs, are organisms which create their own food by taking their energy from non-living sources of energy. In most cases, these are photosynthesizing plants, which use energy from the sun to create their own nutrition in the form of simple sugars, although there are exceptions such as deep sea organisms, which use chemical energy from hydrothermal vents. In this description we will focus on ecosystems that take energy from the sun.
All other levels in the energy pyramid consist of heterotrophs – organisms that obtain their nutrition from organic carbon, usually in the form of other plants and animals.
An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation of the relationship between different organisms in an ecosystem. Each of the bars that make up the pyramid represents a different trophic level, and their order, which is based on who eats whom, represents the flow of energy.