Question

Which of the following is not a limitation of the pyramid?
a) It does not take into account the same species belonging to two or more trophic level
b) It does not accommodate a food chain
c) It does not accommodate a food web
d) None of these

Answer 1

Hint:pyramid is a graphical representation of the relation between the different living organisms and number of organisms, biomass, and productivity at various trophic levels in an ecosystem and these types of pyramids are known as ecological pyramids. Three main kinds of ecological pyramids are of energy, biomass, and numbers.

Complete answer:-
Each bar of the pyramid represents a different trophic level, which is based on who eats whom, and shows the flow of energy. Pyramid moves upward with the autotrophs or primary producers like plants, algae etc. at the bottom base of the pyramid, and then followed by the primary consumers which feed on these primary producers and then secondary consumers which feed on primary consumers and so on. The height of the bars should all be the same, but the width of each bar is based on the quantity of the species or organisms. An ecological pyramid not only shows the feeding patterns of organisms in different ecosystems, but also gives an idea of how energy is transferred and shows the influence of change in numbers at one trophic level and effect on other trophic levels. Some limitations of the pyramids are:-
a) More than one species may occupy multiple trophic levels in case of food web.
b) Pyramids do not consider the possibility of the existence of the same species at different levels.
c) The saprophytes are not considered in any of the pyramids.
So, the correct option is A- It does not take into account the same species belonging to two or more trophic levels.

Note:- Pyramid has different trophic levels. It doesn’t take into account the same species belonging to more than two trophic levels. Saprophytes and decomposers have a great role in the food chain but they are not placed in any trophic levels.