What is the difference between a biomass and an energy pyramid?

A biomass pyramid shows the amount of living matter at each trophic level, while an energy pyramid shows the amount of energy transferred.

Biomass and energy pyramids are two different ways of representing the flow of energy and matter through an ecosystem. A biomass pyramid shows the amount of living matter, or biomass, at each trophic level. The bottom level of the pyramid represents the producers, such as plants, which have the most biomass. The higher levels represent the consumers, such as herbivores and carnivores, which have less biomass. This is because energy is lost as it moves up the food chain, with only around 10% being transferred from one trophic level to the next.

An energy pyramid, on the other hand, shows the amount of energy transferred between trophic levels. The bottom level represents the primary producers, which capture energy from the sun through photosynthesis. For more information on how chloroplasts facilitate this process, visit our Chloroplast Structure and Function page. The higher levels represent the consumers, which obtain energy by consuming other organisms. As with the biomass pyramid, energy is lost as it moves up the food chain, with only a fraction of the energy being transferred from one trophic level to the next.

Understanding the Need for Energy in Organisms can provide deeper insights into why energy transfer is crucial at each trophic level. The stages of this energy transfer are detailed in our section on Stages and Locations of Aerobic Respiration. Additionally, the concept of Ecosystem and Niche Definitions is fundamental in understanding the roles different organisms play in these pyramids.

A-Level Biology Tutor Summary: Biomass pyramids display the total living matter at each food chain level, with producers like plants at the bottom having the most. Energy pyramids show energy transfer between levels, highlighting energy reduction as you move up from plants to consumers. Both illustrate that energy decreases upwards, but in different ways: biomass by matter, and energy by power transfer.