pyramid of numbers

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pyramid of numbers A diagrammatic expression of the numbers of individual organisms present at each trophic level of an ecosystem. It is the least useful of the 3 types of ecological pyramid since it makes no allowance for the different sizes and metabolic rates of organisms. Typically, it slopes more steeply than the other pyramids and may be inverted, e.g. when based on studies of temperate woodlands in summer. Compare PYRAMID OF BIOMASS and PYRAMID OF ENERGY; see also ECOLOGICAL PYRAMID.

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