Question

Observe the following pyramid of biomass and answer the following questions.

a) This pyramid shows a decrease in the biomass as we move up, why the biomass is decreasing?

b) Give some examples of producers and primary consumers.

c) Where do producers get the energy from?

d) How much biomass is lost at each step?

Answer 1

a). The pyramid of biomass for the given food chain, at each step 90% of the food is lost. That means 1000 kg of phytoplankton to produce 100 kg of Zooplankton to form 10 kg of fish to produce 1kg of human tissues. The fewer the steps in the food chain the more energy will be for the species at the top.

b). Examples for producers: Plants, Grass, Diatoms. Examples for primary consumers: Grasshopper, Rabbit, Deer.

c). From the sun.

d). 90%