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The food web illustrated here exists in Yellowstone National Park.

If moose were to go extinct, what would be the two most likely effects on the
ecosystem?

A. A decrease in biodiversity
B. A decrease in the snowshoe hare population
C. An increase in the raven population
D. An increase in biodiversity

The food web illustrated here exists in Yellowstone National Park. If moose were to-example-1
User Superche
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1 Answer

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Answer:

A. A decrease in biodiversity

B. A decrease in snowshoe hare population

Step-by-step explanation:

You want to know two effects on the ecosystem shown if the moose were to go extinct.

Food web

The moose is shown as being a food source for the gray wolf and the raven in the illustration. If the moose were to go extinct, both of these animals would lose a food source. This puts pressure on alternate sources.

For the gray wolf alternate food sources are shown as being the snowshoe hare and the beaver. We can expect both of these populations to decrease if the moose goes extinct.

The raven is not shown as having an alternate food source, so the possibility exists that the raven population would also decline to extinction.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is a measure of the number of different species supported by an ecosystem. Losing even one species (moose) decreases biodiversity.

The most likely effects are ...

  • a decrease in biodiversity
  • a decrease in the snowshoe hare population
User Edjm
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