Ecological Pyramids: Energy Pyramid from Silver Springs, FL.

Energy always decreases, but biomass and numbers can vary in

certain circumstances.

Biomass Pyramid - Biomass refers to the weight of each trophic

level.

Pyramid of Numbers

When organisms feed, toxic and radioactive substances are

magnified in the food chain, causing those organisms at higher
trophic levels to receive higher doses of the substances. Many
birds of prey became threatened by consuming DDT, which
decreased calcium in the egg shell. As a result, eggs broke and
populations decreased rapidly in hawks, owls, eagles, pelicans,
etc.

The exchange and flow of energy within an ecosystem is

dependent upon the communities and species occupying that
ecosystem, and is connected to various nutrient cycles, as shown
in the next few illustrations.

Material cycling in the environment. The Carbon cycle. Any

disruption in any of the nutrients can have major effects on the
environment. Oil, gas, peat, and coal are formed from dead
organisms over periods of millions of years. Most of these
substances were formed from organisms that lived in the
Carboniferous Period (over 300 million years ago). Therefore,
these are not renewable resources; once gone, they cannot be
replaced.