DATE: MAY 2014 CLASS: DIPLOMA BIOLOGY YEAR 12 NAME: DANIELA D.

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Ecological Pyramids
Answer the following questions in the space provided.

1.

a) What kind of ecological pyramid is depicted in the above diagram?
a. A pyramid of Numbers
b. A pyramid of Energy
c. A pyramid of Biomass

b) Describe the shape of this ecological pyramid. Why doesnt this pyramid collapse even though
there are fewer organisms at the first trophic level than at the second trophic level?

In pyramids of number no account is taken for size. One tree, in this case an oak tree, is equated to
the caterpillars, the bluetits and the sparrowhawk. All of these organisms have the same numerical
value, however the oak tree, in the first trophic level, is obviously larger than the rest of the
organisms, and as such can store more energy and provide it to the organisms on the second trophic
level.

c) What happens to the energy stored in each trophic level as one moves up through the levels in the
pyramid?

Energy is lost.









DATE: MAY 2014 CLASS: DIPLOMA BIOLOGY YEAR 12 NAME: DANIELA D.


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2.



a) What kind of ecological pyramid is depicted in the above diagram? Provide a definition
explaining the nature of this pyramid.

It is a pyramid of biomass. Biomass is the total mass of the organisms in a particular place.
Measuring organisms biomass is a more reliable way of describing food chains quantitatively. The
pyramid more accurately describes how much energy can be stored in the organisms.

b) Describe two complications that can arise when biologists use a pyramid of biomass.
Using fresh mass can be easy to assess, but the varying presence of water in live organisms makes
the measurements unreliable. Dry mass is more accurate but the organisms must be killed. As a
result, only a small sample can be taken and that sample may not be representative.







DATE: MAY 2014 CLASS: DIPLOMA BIOLOGY YEAR 12 NAME: DANIELA D.


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3. A grassland ecosystem in Alberta receives 1500 kJ of sunlight. One food chain in this community
is depicted as follows:

grass grasshoppers blackbirds hawks

a) Draw an ecological pyramid that illustrates the transfer of energy in this community. Using the
rule of 10, determine the amount of energy that is stored at each trophic level. Include all relevant
labels.













b) A farmer sets up a buffalo farm in this ecosystem. Over time, the buffalo greatly reduce the grass
biomass in the community. Explain how the introduction of this new species could affect the amount
of energy transferred within the food chain that is shown above.

Less energy would be available for transfer to the upper trophic levels because it is being consumed
y the buffalo.


4. On the rest of this handout, discuss this statement: Humans should all be vegetarians

It is more efficient energy-wise for humans to consume organisms from lower trophic levels, that is,
plants. By getting our energy from lower trophic levels, the food chain is shortened and thus the loss
of energy is minimised. Instead of the energy having to be transferred to primary and secondary
consumers, it can go straight to humans, whereas if we eat meat, we place ourselves in the third or
fourth trophic levels. The energy loss at this point is considerable, and thus we must eat more to get
the same energy we would get from an organism on a lower level. This would support the statement
that humans should all be vegetarians. On the other hand, we need the proteins found in meat.
Producers (grass)
800kJ

200kJ

Primary consumers (grasshoper)
100kJ

Secondary consumers
50kJ

Tertiary consumer (hawk)