7.4.2 Pyramids of Biomass

• Structure: The pyramid shape illustrates that there is less biomass as you move up the trophic levels.
• Energy Loss: Not all the food consumed by an organism is converted into biomass. This means the biomass at each level decreases because energy is lost at each stage.

Key Concepts:

• Producers (e.g., plants and algae) convert only about 1% of the sunlight they receive into biomass via photosynthesis. This is because not all sunlight reaches the photosynthesizing parts of the plant (like leaves).

• Biomass Transfer: On average, only 10% of the biomass at each trophic level is transferred to the next level. The remaining 90% is lost through various processes.