Define Ecological Pyramid
- Ecological pyramid is a mathematical-statistical tool to analyze the food chain in terms of the amount of energy stored, the number of organisms supported and the amount of biomass stored per unit area in a given interval of time.
- It is graphically represented through the tropic level.
Types of Ecological Pyramid
There are three types of pyramids:
- Pyramid of energy – Is always upright
- Pyramid of number – can be both upright and inverted
- Pyramid of biomass – can be both upright and inverted.
Limitations of the Ecological Pyramid
- It does not take food webs into consideration.
- Only applies to ordinary food chains
- Saprophytes are not admitted in any pyramids.