Question

what is energy pyramid

Answer 1

An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem. Biomass pyramids show how much biomass is present in the organisms at each trophic level, while productivity pyramids show the procreation or turnover in biomass.

Answer 2

An energy pyramid (also known as a trophic or ecological pyramid) is a graphical representation, showing the flow of energy at each trophic level in an ecosystem.

Any discussion of the food chain typically throws up images of a carnivorous animal chasing a deer or a buffalo. Our brains visualize one organism being hunted and eaten by another and typically associate a large, carnivorous predator at the ‘top’ of the food chain. However, this mental picture doesn’t exactly show the flow of energy through the ecosystem.

This is where an energy pyramid comes into the picture to help quantify the transfer of energy from one organism to another along the food chain. The energy decreases as you move through the trophic levels from the bottom to the top of the energy pyramid. This is because the energy is used up by the organisms at each level.

The pyramid shape is used to represent the flow of energy because of the way that energy is used up and lost throughout the system.