Question

in a food pyramid, there is typically less biomass at the top )I.e., there are very few individual tertiary consumers, whereas there are numerous individual producers). in three short sentences, explain this phenomenon, citing evidence relating to energy flow and how plants support ecosystems. write it as a 6th grader

Answer 1

Plants are at the bottom of the pyramid because they use sunlight to make food by photosynthesis, creating most of the biomass that supports the whole ecosystem. Scientists say that as energy moves up each level, about 90% is lost as heat and waste and only about 10% is passed on (the "10% rule"). Because so much energy is lost, many plants are needed to support fewer herbivores and only a small number of top predators, so biomass gets smaller toward the top.