Why are most energy pyramids limited to three to five levels? Why are most energy pyramids limited to three to five levels?

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

You mean by trophic levels? Like grass, herbivore, human type of thing with calories.

Well it%26#039;s because if you start out at 1000 calories say for grass, say a bug eats that grass, the calories is reduced to 100, then a bird eats that insect and thus reducing the energy to 10 calories, a snake eats that bird reducing it to 1 calories. It is reduced by 10% on each lvl, and basically there is a point in which there are no more predators to eat the thing below it, and not to mention going into the decimals is kinda blah. 67% 2 Votes

Other Answers (1)

• I%26#039;m not sure, but I can guess. I think it might be because in every energy transaction, most energy is lost through heat energy (second law of thermodynamics). So by the time the pyramids get to about the fifth level, the level is so small that there is almost no point. I mean energy is never destroyed, so the energy pyramids keep going in theory, but after a while the energy becomes so small and dispersed that there is not point to illustrate it in a pyramid diagram. 33% 1 Vote