Question

The pyramid of biomass in sea is also generally inverted because the biomass of fishes far exceeds that of phytoplankton. Isn’t that a paradox? How would you explain this?

Answer 1

Part 1: Ecological pyramids
Ecological pyramids are a visual representation of the numbers/ biomass/ energy present in different trophic levels in the food chain. These are of three types:

• Pyramid of numbers
• Pyramid of biomass
• Pyramid of energy

Part 2: Pyramid of biomass in the sea
In marine ecosystems, the second trophic level constituted by the zooplanktons have higher biomass than that of the lower phytoplanktons. Therefore, this is an inverted pyramid of biomass.

The reproductive capacity of the phytoplanktons are very high. Therefore, at any given time there are always enough producers to support this ecosystem.

Part 3: Diagram