An ecological pyramid is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or bio-productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem.
Charles Elton (1927) developed the idea of ecological pyramids. Therefore these are also termed as Eltonian pyramids.
Pyramid of number
Pyramid of biomass
Pyramid of energy
Pyramid of number-Definition– the number of organisms in a food chain can be represented graphically in a pyramid. Each bar represents the number of individuals at each trophic level in the food chain.
It can be upright and inverted.
Pyramid of biomass-Definition– The pyramid of biomass is a graphical representation that depicts the biomass existent in per unit area in all the different trophic level of the ecological system.
It can be upright and inverted.
Definition- An energy pyramid is a graphical model of energy flow in a community. The different level represent different group of organism that might composed of food chain.
Pyramid of energy is always upright as it follows the second law of thermodynamics which states that as energy is transferred or transformed, more and more of it wasted.
IMPORTANCE OF ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
Easy to understand.
It gives overall picture of transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next.
Migrant Worker 