Question

Explain the concept of ecological pyramid.

Answer 1

•  An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation designed to show the number of organisms, energy relationships, and biomass of an ecosystem. They are also called Eltonian pyramids after Charles Elton, who developed the concept of ecological pyramids.
•  The producers form the base and the carnivore occurs at the top of food chain. The different organisms in the pyramid are present in the sequence wise and include the producers at the base which are followed by the herbivore. These are followed by the primary carnivore at the top.
• They can be upright which means that the base is larger in size and it decreases as we move upwards. They can be inverted also which means that the base is smaller in size and it increases as we move upwards. It can be spindle shape which means that the base is thin along with the top but the middle part is broad.
  The ecological pyramids are of three types:
   
• Pyramid of energy
• Pyramid of biomass and
•  Pyramid of numbers.