What is an ecological pyramid? Briefly describe its types, advantages and disadvantages.

Answer: The ecological pyramid is called the ecological pyramid or ecological cone because it arranges the individual number, biomass or energy of organisms of different trophic levels in the ecosystem and draws a map, which looks like a pyramid. It refers to a certain quantitative relationship between different trophic levels, which can be used as biomass unit, energy unit or individual unit. The ecological pyramids formed by these units are called biomass pyramids, energy pyramids and quantity pyramids respectively. There are three types of so-called "ecological pyramids"; Biomass pyramid, energy pyramid and quantity pyramid. Ecological pyramid refers to dividing the ecosystem into various trophic levels and arranging these trophic levels into pyramids in order.

Advantages and disadvantages: 1, quantity pyramid

The number of individuals in each trophic level in the ecosystem at a certain moment. The meaning of each step: it indicates the number of individual organisms in each trophic level. The phenomenon of hanging upside down often occurs. With the increase of trophic level, the energy is less and less, and the size of animals is generally larger and larger, so the number of biological individuals is less and less.

2. Biomass Pyramid

Weight relationship of organisms of different trophic levels in an ecosystem at a certain moment. Energy exists in the form of matter, so the biomass of each trophic level (the total mass of existing biological organic matter) represents the energy value to a certain extent. In this sense, the shape of the biomass pyramid is roughly similar to that of the energy pyramid. Special shape of biomass cone: For example, in marine ecosystem, producer phytoplankton is small in size and short in life, and will be eaten by zooplankton continuously, so the biomass of phytoplankton investigated at a certain moment may be lower than that of its predator zooplankton, but this does not mean that the energy flowing through producer is less than that flowing through zooplankton.

3. Energy Pyramid

The energy absorbed by each trophic level in the ecosystem over a period of time. The lower the nutritional level, the more energy it takes up; On the contrary, the higher the nutritional level, the less energy it takes up. Therefore, the bottom of the energy pyramid is the largest, and it gets smaller as it goes up. The energy pyramid will never be reversed.