Which ecological pyramid can sometimes be inverted in certain aquatic ecosystems, such as a temperate lake during summer phytoplankton blooms?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The pyramid of biomass in certain aquatic ecosystems can be inverted because producers like microscopic phytoplankton have a very high turnover rate and rapid reproduction despite possessing a smaller standing crop biomass at any instant compared to primary consumers like zooplankton. Pyramids of energy are always upright because energy flows unidirectionally and decreases at each higher trophic level according to thermodynamic laws. Charles Elton pioneered the concept of ecological pyramids.