Concept of energy pyramids

Question

Explain whether the amount of available energy within the given tropic level to be larger in comparison to the available energy within the inferior tropic levels? What does that particular condition means to conformation of the energy pyramids?

Answer 1

Superior tropic level always has the less available energy in comparison to the inferior tropic levels. This is so because in each tropic level only the fraction of organic material of level below is included into the consumers (into their bodies), other part is removed as waste or is used in the metabolism as energy source. Thus, it is never possible to have the energy pyramids with the inverted conformation, i.e., with tip to bottom and the base to the top. It is also not possible to have the superior tropic levels with variable dimension larger than the inferior ones. In each energy pyramid, from base to the top, size of the variable dimension reduces.