Question

As a general rule, total biomass _______, size of individuals _____, and number of individuals ______ as you move up a trophic pyramid or through a food web.

Answer 1

The answer is decreasing….increases….decreases. The reason behind this is that the higher you go up the food web the lower the energy is transferred up the chain. Only 10% of energy is passed from one trophic level to another (in biomass) as you go up the food web. The other 90% is lost through entropy. This is why the energy pyramid takes the shape of a pyramid.