(Originais Teachy 2023) - Question Very Easy of Biology

Ecological pyramids are graphical representations that show the trophic structure of an ecosystem, that is, the relationship between different trophic levels such as producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, etc., and decomposers, and the amount of energy, biomass, or number of individuals at each level. The energy pyramid is the most representative for evaluating energy flow because it shows the amount of energy available at each trophic level and the efficiency in energy transfer between them. The main elements of an energy pyramid are: (1) Producers, which are the base and hold the most energy, (2) Primary consumers, (3) Secondary consumers, (4) Tertiary consumers, and so on, with energy decreasing at each trophic level due to thermal and metabolic losses. This pyramid is more relevant because energy is the basis of all biological activities and is the way in which ecosystem productivity is measured. Biomass and number of individuals pyramids are less representative because biomass can vary with seasonal changes and the physical structure of organisms, while the number of individuals does not reflect the amount of transferred energy, as smaller organisms can have a high metabolic rate and therefore a high energy consumption despite their small biomass.