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Definition

noun

A graphical model that is shaped like a pyramid to show how the energy flows through a food chain, how the amount of energy is decreasing and becoming less available for organisms as it enters each trophic level, and how much of the energy in the ecosystem is lost to the atmosphere as heat.

Supplement

Since there is always a loss of energy at each trophic level the energy pyramid is always upright.

Synonym: Ecological Pyramid of Energy.
Compare: Biomass Pyramid.
See also: Pyramid of Numbers.