Ecological Pyramids
Biology ⇒ Ecology and Environment
Ecological Pyramids starts at 8 and continues till grade 12.
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See sample questions for grade 12
A food chain in a grassland has the following organisms: grass → grasshopper → frog → snake. Draw and label the pyramid of numbers for this food chain.
Describe how the presence of parasites can affect the shape of a pyramid of numbers.
Describe one limitation of using the pyramid of numbers to represent ecosystem structure.
Describe one situation where the pyramid of biomass may be inverted.
Describe the main difference between an upright and an inverted ecological pyramid.
Explain the difference between a pyramid of biomass and a pyramid of energy.
Explain why decomposers are not usually represented in ecological pyramids.
Explain why ecological pyramids are important tools in ecosystem analysis.
Explain why the pyramid of energy is always upright, regardless of the ecosystem.
Explain why the pyramid of numbers in a forest ecosystem may be inverted.
If 10,000 J of energy is available at the producer level, how much energy would typically be available to the secondary consumers, assuming 10% energy transfer efficiency at each trophic level?
If a pyramid of energy shows 1000 kJ at the producer level, 100 kJ at the primary consumer level, and 10 kJ at the secondary consumer level, what is the efficiency of energy transfer between each level?
If a pyramid of numbers in a forest ecosystem is inverted, what does this indicate about the relationship between producers and consumers?
In a marine ecosystem, why might the biomass of primary consumers exceed that of producers at a given time?
In an ecosystem, if the biomass at the producer level is 500 kg, and at the primary consumer level is 50 kg, what is the ratio of biomass between these two levels?
A grassland ecosystem has the following energy values: Producers – 20,000 kJ/m²/year; Primary consumers – 2,000 kJ/m²/year; Secondary consumers – 200 kJ/m²/year. Calculate the percentage of energy transferred from producers to primary consumers and from primary consumers to secondary consumers.
A lake ecosystem has a producer biomass of 2 kg/m² and a primary consumer biomass of 4 kg/m² at a given time. Explain why the pyramid of biomass is inverted in this case, and discuss the ecological processes that can lead to such a pattern.
Discuss two major limitations of using ecological pyramids to represent complex food webs in natural ecosystems.
Explain how the concept of ecological efficiency influences the shape of the pyramid of energy, and discuss why this shape is consistent across all ecosystems.
Explain why the shape of the pyramid of numbers can differ significantly from the pyramid of biomass in the same ecosystem, using a forest ecosystem as an example.
