In a food pyramid, there is typically less biomass at the top (i.e., there are very few individual tertiary consumers, whereas there are numerous individual producers). In three to five sentences, explain this phenomenon, citing evidence relating to energy flow and how plants support ecosystems.
This phenomenon can be explained by the concept of energy flow in ecosystems. As energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next, there is a loss of energy in the form of heat, metabolic processes, and waste. This means that less energy is available at higher trophic levels, resulting in fewer individual organisms at the top of the food pyramid. Plants, as primary producers, form the base of the food chain by converting sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. They provide the energy and nutrients necessary to sustain all other organisms in the ecosystem, thereby supporting a larger population of consumers at lower trophic levels.
