Abstract
A trophic pyramid is essentially a static view of the distribution of biomass in a community among producers, consumers, and, at times, decomposers. This chapter focuses on the distribution of biomass at one point in time, unlike the other chapters which primarily consider average values or dynamics of the ecosystem. The existence of a pyramidal trophic structure in ecosystems has become one of the first principles of ecology. Evidence for this may be found in most general textbooks of ecology, which present trophic pyramids in terms of numbers, biomass, or energy content of organisms (e.g., Odum 1973).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Christie, J. R. and V. G. Perry. 1951. Removing nematodes from soil. Proc. Helminthol. Soc. Wash. 18:106–108.
Clark, G. L. 1946. Dynamics of production in a marine area. Ecol. Monogr. 16:321–335.
Jolly, G. M. 1965. Explicit estimates from capture-recapture data with both death and immigration—stochastic model. Biometrika 52:225–247.
Kozlovsky, D. G. 1968. A critical evaluation of the trophic level concept. Ecology 49:48–60.
LaMotte, M. M. 1969. Représentation synthétique des aspects statique et dynamique de la structure trophique d’un écosystème. Comptes Rendus Herbomadaires des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences, Ser. D 268:2952–2955.
Merchant, V. A. and D. A. Crossley, Jr. 1970. An inexpensive, high-efficiency Tullgren extractor for soil microarthropods. J. Georgia Entomol. Soc. 5:83–87.
Miller, R. G., Jr. 1966. Simultaneous Statistical Inference. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Odum, E. P. 1973. Fundamentals of Ecology, 3rd ed. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
Raitt, R. J. and S. L. Pimm. 1977. Dynamics of bird communities in the Chihuahuan desert, New Mexico. Condor 78:427–442.
Rotenberry, J. T., and J. A. Wiens. 1976. A method for estimating species dispersion from transect data. Am. Midl. Nat. 95:64–78.
Sims, P. L., J. S. Singh, and W. K. Lauenroth. 1978. The structure and function of ten western North American grasslands. I. Abiotic and vegetational characteristics. J. Ecol 66:251–285.
Swift, D. M. and R. K. Steinhorst. 1976. A technique for estimating small mammal population densities using a grid and assessment lines. Acta Theriol. 21(32):471–480.
Turnbull, A. L., and C. F. Nicholls. 1966. A “quick trap” for area sampling of arthropods in grassland communities. J. Econ. Entomol. 59: 1100–1104.
Van Dyne, G. M. 1972. Organization and management of an integrated ecological research program—with special emphasis on systems analysis, universities and scientific cooperation. In J. N. R. Jeffers (ed.) Mathematical Models in Ecology, pp. 111–72. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publishers.
Wiens, J. A. 1973. Pattern and process in grassland bird communities. Ecol. Monogr. 43:237–270.
Zippin, C. 1956. On evaluation of the removal method of estimating animal populations. Biometrika 12:163–189.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1979 Spriger-Verlag New York Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
French, N.R., Steinhorst, R.K., Swift, D.M. (1979). Grassland Biomass Trophic Pyramids. In: French, N.R. (eds) Perspectives in Grassland Ecology. Ecological Studies, vol 32. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-6182-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-6182-7_5
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-6184-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-6182-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive