Question

A food chain acts like any system; when one part changes, the rest of the system is effected. Which statement BEST describes a relationship between the organisms in this food chain? A) If the mouse population decreases, the hawk population will increase. B) If the mouse population increases, the seed population will increase. C) If the seed population decreases, the hawk population will remain the same. D) If the seed population increases, both the mouse and hawk population will increase.

Answer 1

The best answer is D) If the seed population increases, both the mouse and hawk population will increase as it reflects the interconnected predator-prey dynamics within a food chain.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks which statement BEST describes a relationship between the organisms in a food chain. In a food chain, if the seed population increases, which serves as food for the mice, the mouse population is likely to increase due to the higher availability of food. Following this, if the mouse population increases and mice are the prey for hawks, the hawk population will have more potential food and might also increase after a slight delay as they respond to the abundance in prey. This is an example of a predator-prey relationship, which tends to keep the populations of both species in balance, as the availability of prey influences the number of predators over time.

The best answer, in this case, is D) If the seed population increases, both the mouse and hawk population will increase, reflecting the cyclic nature of predator-prey dynamics within a food chain. Other options do not accurately represent the typical responses in an ecological system based on feeding relationships.

Answer 2

D: if mouse food increases (seed) then more mice can survive and if there are more mice then the can also be more hawks.
A is not correct because if the mouse decreases (hawk food) the hawk populations also decrease
B is not correct because seed is mouse food and is the mouse population increases it will eat all the seed and seed population goes down
C is not correct because if the sees population decreases the number of mice will decrease and then there will be less hawk food and hawk will also decrease