Question

The total amount of living material at various levels of a food chain is depicted by
a. Pyramid of energy
b. Pyramids of numbers
c. Pyramid of biomass
d. All of the above

Answer 1

The food chain works from producer to primary consumer to secondary consumer with the flow of energy. Every living organism requires food to survive to produce energy. The pyramids represent the energy relationship between organisms at different trophic levels.

Complete answer:
The food chain is a pathway that includes the flow of energy and nutrients in the ecosystem. For instance, plants produce food by photosynthesis, the caterpillar eats that food, sparrow eats caterpillar, eagle eats sparrow and when the eagle dies, bacteria and other microbes break down it’s body by turning it into organic matter and return it to the soil which provides nutrients for plants or grass.

The pyramid represents the amount of energy or biomass or numbers present on each level. Let’s discuss three ecological pyramids of energy, numbers, and biomass. The base of the pyramid represents producers and the apex represents tertiary consumers.

- Pyramid of energy: This model shows the flow of energy from producers to consumers. Each level shows the energy used by organisms.
- Pyramid of numbers: The pyramid of numbers represents the number of organisms at each trophic level. It is an upright pyramid that states that at the base level, there are more producers than the organisms at the apex trophic level.
- Pyramid of biomass: It shows the total biomass of the organisms present at each trophic level of the ecosystem. Biomass can be defined as the total weight of organisms at each trophic level. It shows organic matter.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note: Pyramid of biomass can be upright or inverted. An example of an inverted pyramid of biomass is a small standing crop of phytoplankton that supports a large standing crop of zooplankton. Biomass can be burned or digested to produce energy.