Energy Pyramid

Answer 1

The biomass pyramid definition that is accepted widely is that the pyramid of biomass is a graphical representation that depicts the biomass existent in per unit area in all the different trophic levels of the ecological system. The bottom level of this pyramid is occupied by produces and the carnivores are at the top of this pyramid. In order to understand what is a biomass pyramid, it is first essential to understand what biomass is.

In ecological terms, biomass is the combined mass of all living organisms that inhabit a given area or an ecosystem, at any given point of time. Biomass can be differentiated into two different types; species biomass and community biomass. Species biomass is the combined mass of one or more species in the area and community biomass is the combined biomass of all the species that consider the specified community, as their habitat. The species included in measuring biomass can be human beings or even microorganisms. The method of measurement of biomass depends on the reason for which it is being measured. In some cases the mass of the organisms in their natural state and their natural place of being is considered. For example, in an instance where you are trying to calculate the biomass in a fishery, the total biomass would be the mass of the fishes in their wet state, if they were taken out of the water, in their dried organic state. This would account for their actual biomass which would only be about 30% or so of their mass in water. There are other cases where in the mass would include biological tissues only, while bone mass, shell mass or teeth mass would not be taken into consideration. These are some applications in which only the carbon present in the body is considered to measure the biomass. Biomass is an expression of the mass per unit area and therefore, it is measured in the units grams per square meter or tonnes per square kilometer.

A pyramid of biomass or a biomass pyramid helps by quantifying the biomass amount that is present due to organisms at every trophic level. As with ecological pyramids in general, the pyramid starts with the producer, which are generally plants, on the bottom level of the pyramid, followed by subsequent consumers. The highest level of the pyramid is occupied by lowest quantified amount of biomass and is mostly occupied by carnivores. This is an example of the upright biomass pyramid which is found in almost every ecosystem and biomes of the world. The main characteristic of an inverted pyramid is that the total weight of the producers is more than the combined weight of the consumers. But the inverted biomass pyramid is the complete opposite, where the weight of the producers is less than the weight of the consumers. The inverted pyramid is more prevalent in aquatic ecosystems, as in such an environment, the biomass depends on the reproductive ability and the lifespan of the species. One of the best biomass pyramid examples to explain the inverted pyramid is the pond ecosystem, where the mass of the producers of the ecosystem, which are generally the phytoplanktons is always less than the mass of the consumers in the ecosystem, which are generally fishes and other insects.

One of the main problems of a biomass pyramid is that every level of the pyramid appears to have more energy than it actually does. For example, when human beings consume fish or any other animal, the mass of their bones (animals) is calculated, but it is not actually consumed by the next level of the biomass pyramid. A biomass pyramid quantifies mass that is not actually taken to the next trophic level. But despite this discrepancy, a biomass pyramid remains one of the best ways to understand, if there is any imbalance in the ecosystem. If you are trying to explain the concepts of ecological pyramids and biomass pyramids to children, then you could use biomass pyramid worksheets that are easily available online to check their level of understanding. Hopefully, this article has elucidated the concept for you.