Question

A species of malaria-carrying mosquito lives in a forest in which two species of monkeys, A and B, coexist. Species A is immune to malaria, but species B is not. The malaria-carrying mosquito is the chief food for a particular kind of bird in the forest. If all these birds were suddenly eliminated by hunters, which of the following would be an immediately observable consequence?

Answer 1

Prevalence of malaria infections in monkeys from species B will increase

Step-by-step explanation:

If malaria-carrying mosquitoes are the chief food for a particular kind of bird in the forest, the amount of malaria-carrying mosquitoes will increase when that species of bird is eliminated. If the population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes increases, the probability of malaria infections in monkeys of species B will increase, thus the prevalence will increase.

This is an example of a cascade effect. A cascade effect is a chain of effects than can be observed, and that includes multiple taxonomic groups. In this case, changes in the bird population will affect the malaria-carrying mosquito population, which also affects the monkey's population.