SCIENCE
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
The remaining community adjusts and quickly becomes stable.
|
|
|
The diversity of the ecosystem actually increases.
|
|
|
The diversity of the ecosystem decreases and the prey population increases.
|
|
|
None of the above
|
Detailed explanation-1: -In predation, one organism kills and consumes another. Predation provides energy to prolong the life and promote the reproduction of the organism that does the killing, the predator, to the detriment of the organism being consumed, the prey. Predation influences organisms at two ecological levels.
Detailed explanation-2: -Population Explosions The most obvious result of the removal of the top predators in an ecosystem is a population explosion in the prey species. Predators keep herbivore populations in check. The reverse is also true, of course–predator populations are limited by the availability of prey.
Detailed explanation-3: -A predator-prey relationship tends to keep the populations of both species in balance. This is shown by the graph in Figure below. As the prey population increases, there is more food for predators. So, after a slight lag, the predator population increases as well.
Detailed explanation-4: -As predator populations increase, they put greater strain on the prey populations and act as a top-down control, pushing them toward a state of decline. Thus both availability of resources and predation pressure affect the size of prey populations.