An ecological pyramid is sometimes used to show both the flow of matter and energy in an ecosystem. The pyramid narrows as matter and energy flow from the bottom to the top. Draw a conclusion about what this pyramid tells you about the energy in this ecosystem.

D) Energy decreases from bottom to top because some is used at each level for life processes.

An ecological pyramid (also trophic pyramid, Eltonian pyramid, energy pyramid, or sometimes food pyramid) is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bioproductivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.

A pyramid of energy shows how much energy is retained in the form of new biomass at each trophic level, while a pyramid of biomass shows how much biomass (the amount of living or organic matter present in an organism) is present in the organisms. There is also a pyramid of numbers representing the number of individual organisms at each trophic level. Pyramids of energy are normally upright, but other pyramids can be inverted or take other shapes.

Ecological pyramids begin with producers on the bottom (such as plants) and proceed through the various trophic levels (such as herbivores that eat plants, then carnivores that eat flesh, then omnivores that eat both plants and flesh, and so on). The highest level is the top of the food chain.

Biomass can be measured by a bomb calorimeter.