What are the ecological pyramids,Explain their working and significance. ?

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An ecological pyramid (or trophic pyramid) is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem. Biomass pyramids show the abundance or biomass of organisms at each trophic level, while productivity pyramids show the production or turn-over in biomass. Ecological pyramids begin with producers on the bottom and proceed through the various trophic levels, the highest of which is on top. An ecological pyramid of biomass shows the relationship between biomass and trophic level by quantifying the amount of biomass present at each trophic level. Typical units for a biomass pyramid could be grams per meter2, or calories per meter2. Biomass pyramids provide a single snapshot in time of an ecological community. One problem with biomass pyramids is that they can make a trophic level look like it contains more energy than it actually does. For example, all birds have beaks and skeletons, which despite taking up mass are not eaten by the next trophic level. In apyramid of biomass the skeletons and beaks would still be quantified even though they do not contribute to the overall flow of energy into the next trophic level. Also, the pyramid of biomass may be 'inverted'. For example, in a pond ecosystem, the standing crop of phytoplankton, the major producers, at any given point will be lower than the mass of the heterotrophs, such as fish and insects. This is explained as the phytoplankton reproduce very quickly. An ecological pyramid of productivity is often more useful, showing the production or turnover of biomass at each trophic level. Instead of showing a single snapshot in time, productivity pyramids show the flow of energy through the food chain. Typical units would be grams per meter2 per year or calories per meter2 per year. As with the others, this graph begins with producers at the bottom and places higher trophic levels on top. When an ecosystem is healthy, this graph generally looks like the standard ecological pyramid. This is because in order for the ecosystem to sustain itself, there must be more energy at lower trophic levels than there is at higher trophic levels. This allows for organisms on the lower levels to maintain a stable population, but to also feed the organisms on higher trophic levels, thus transferring energy up the pyramid. The exception to this generalization is when portions of a food web are supported by inputs of resources from outside of the local community. In small, forested streams, for example, many consumers feed on dead leaves which fall into the stream. The productivity at the second trophic level is therefore greater than could be supported by the local primary production. When energy is transferred to the next trophic level, typically only 10% of it is used to build new biomass, becoming stored energy (the rest going to metabolic processes). As such, in a pyramid of productivity each step will be 10% the size of the previous step (100, 10, 1, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001 etc.). The advantages of the pyramid of productivity: * It takes account of the rate of production over a period of time. * Two species of comparable biomass may have very different life spans. Therefore their relative

biomasses is misleading, but their productivity is directly comparable. * The relative energy flow within an ecosystem can be compared using pyramids of energy; also different ecosystems can be compared. * There are no inverted pyramids. * The input of solar energy can be added. The disadvantages of the pyramid of productivity: * The rate of biomass production of an organism is required, which involves measuring growth and reproduction through time. * There is still the difficulty of assigning the organisms to a specific trophic level. As well as the organism in the food chains there is the problem of assigning the decomposers and detritivores to a particular trophic level. Nonetheless, productivity pyramids usually provide more insight into a ecological community when the necessary information is available.

Types of Ecological Pyramids

By Debashree Sen, eHow Contributor

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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. Producer organisms (usually green plants) form the base of the pyramid, with succeeding levels above representing the different trophic levels (respective position of the organisms within ecological food chains). Succeeding levels in the pyramid represent the dependence of the organisms at a given level on the organisms at lower level. There are three types of pyramids: of numbers, of biomass, and of energy.

Pyramid of Biomass
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Biomass is renewable organic (living) material. A pyramid of biomass is a representation of the amount of energy contained in biomass, at different trophic levels for a particular time. It is measured in grams per meter2, or calories per meter2. This demonstrates the amount of matter lost between trophic levels. Each level is dependent on its lower level for energy, hence the lower level determines how much energy will be available to the upper level. Also, energy is lost in transfer so the amount of energy is less higher up the pyramid.

There are two types of biomass pyramids: upright and inverted. An upright pyramid is one where the combined weight of producers is larger than the combined weight of consumers. An example is a forest ecosystem. An inverted pyramid is one where the combined weight of producers is smaller than the combined weight of consumers. An example is an aquatic ecosystem.

Pyramid of Numbers

The pyramid of numbers represents the number of organisms in each trophic level. This pyramid consists of a plot of relationships between the number herbivores (primary consumers), first level carnivore (secondary consumers), second level carnivore (tertiary consumers) and so forth. This shape varies from ecosystem to ecosystem because the number of organisms at each level is variable

Upright, partly upright and inverted are the three types of pyramids of numbers. An aquatic ecosystem is an example of upright pyramid where the number of organisms becomes fewer and fewer higher up in the pyramid. A forest ecosystem is an example of a partially upright pyramid, as fewer producers support more primary consumers, but there are less secondary and tertiary consumers. An inverted pyramid of numbers is one where the number of organisms depending on the lower levels grows closer toward the apex. A parasitic food chain is an example.

Pyramid of Energy
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The pyramid of energy represents the total amount of energy consumed by each trophic level. An energy pyramid is always upright as the total amount of energy available for utilization in the layers above is less than the energy available in the lower levels. This happens because during energy transfer from lower to higher levels, some energy is always lost.

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