PYRAMIDS

EQ: How is energy calculated through a food chain?

Ecological Pyramids Does this pyramid represent a food

chain or web?

How could this pyramid be changed to represent a food web?

Grass (10,000 kcal)

Grasshopper (1,000 kcal)

Frog (100 kcal)

Snake (10 kcal)

Hawk(1 kcal)

1

2

3

4

5

Pyramid of Energy

Tertiary consumer

Producer

Primary consumer

Heat

Heat

Heat

Heat

100%

10%

1%

0.1%

Pyramid of Energy

What do the big numbers represent?

The numbers in parenthesis represent the amount of energy present at each trophic level.

Grass (10,000 kcal)

Grasshopper (_____ kcal)

Frog (___ kcal)

Snake (___ kcal)

Hawk(__ kcal)

1

2

3

4

5

Pyramid of Energy

What happens to the energy as you go up the food chain?

Only 10% of the energy is transferred to organisms at the next trophic level

Pyramid of Energy

Tertiary consumer

Producer

Primary consumer

Heat

Heat

Heat

Heat

1000 kcal

100 kcal

10 kcal

1 kcal

Secondary consumer

Pyramid of Numbers Illustrates the relative number of

organisms at each trophic level.

Pyramid of Biomass Illustrates the total amount of living

tissue at each trophic level.

Ecological Pyramids

What is different about this pyramid?

How can the producer level be so small and support the trophic levels above it?

Pyramids of Aquatic Ecosystems

Numbers

Biomass

Energy

Phytoplankton are microscopic and weigh

very little

Pyramids of Temperate Forests

Numbers

Biomass

Energy

Trees are huge but not as numerous as many smaller

forest creatures.