trophic pyramid

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Diagram showing energy transfer through an ecosystem, with solar energy absorbed by plants (producers) at the base, then moving up to herbivores (primary consumers), small carnivores (secondary consumers), and large carnivores (tertiary consumers), while most energy is lost as heat at each step.

Diagram illustrating energy flow through ecosystem trophic levels, showing energy from the sun absorbed by producers (plants), then transferred to a rabbit (primary consumer), a snake (secondary consumer), and an eagle (tertiary consumer), with energy loss as heat at each step.

What is a trophic cascade?

How an ecosystem works: Producers, herbivores, and carnivores

An energy pyramid diagram showing four levels: producers like grass at the base, primary consumers such as rabbits above, secondary consumers like snakes next, and a tertiary consumer, an eagle, at the top. Arrows indicate energy transfer upward and energy loss at each level.

A diagram of a generalized aquatic food web shows various marine organisms connected by arrows indicating predator-prey relationships. Top predators like large sharks, smaller sharks, and marlin are at the top, followed by predators such as tuna, squid, lancet fish, and mackerel. Filterers like lantern fish, amphipods, and ocean sunfish occupy the next level, with zooplankton such as shrimp, copepods, and pteropods below them. At the base, phytoplankton including dinoflagellates and diatoms prov

trophic pyramid: References & Edit History

More Articles On This Topic

community ecology
Trophic pyramids and the flow of energy

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Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Modified link of Web site: University of Minnesota Libraries - Classroom Partners - Energy pyramids.	Emily Rodriguez	Sep 02, 2026
	Add new Web site: Mustansiriyah University - Trophic Structure and Ecological Pyramids (PDF).	Grace Young	Feb 01, 2025
	Add new Web site: University of Basrah - Department of Science - Ecological Pyramids.	Grace Young	Oct 10, 2024
	Add new Web site: Science - Trophic pyramids reorganize when food web architecture fails to adjust to ocean change.	Gloria Lotha	Feb 23, 2024
	Add new Web site: Academia - 5 Pyramids of Number.	Gloria Lotha	Nov 29, 2023
	Add new Web site: Khan Academy - Impact of changes to trophic pyramids (video).	Emily Rodriguez	Sep 18, 2023
	Media added.	Meg Matthias	Jul 31, 2023
	Add new Web site: University of Minnesota Libraries - Classroom Partners - Energy pyramids.	Aakanksha Gaur	Jul 22, 2023
	Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Urban Public Health: Is There a Pyramid?	Gloria Lotha	Apr 12, 2023
	Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Ecological Pyramids.	Gloria Lotha	Feb 14, 2022
	Clarified the role of krill in marine ecosystems.	John P. Rafferty	Apr 16, 2018
	Video describing energy flow in an ecosystem added.	John P. Rafferty	Feb 04, 2013
	Added diagram depicting energy flow, heat loss, and the relative amount of biomass occurring at various trophic levels.	Richard Pallardy	Feb 28, 2012
	Add new Web site: College of Dupage - Trophic Pyramids.	Yamini Chauhan	Apr 18, 2011
	New article added.	John P. Rafferty	Jun 05, 2009