Question

In 1893, a large area of a national forest was home to mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats, as well as about 3,000 deer. The deer ate grass, and the mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats ate deer. Around 1900, hunters began killing large numbers of mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats. By 1923, there were 100,000 deer in this population. Using only the relationships between the plants and animals described above, which of the following statements could explain why the population of deer increased so much?

a) The number of deer increased because without predators, the deer lived longer and had more offspring that also lived longer.
b) The number of deer increased because populations are always increasing.
c) The number of deer increased because with fewer mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats, the deer had more food to eat.
d) There is not enough information to tell why the deer population increased.

Answer 1

The deer population increased significantly due to reduced predation after hunters decreased the populations of their natural predators like mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats.

Step-by-step explanation:

In 1893, a national forest was home to a balanced ecosystem of predators like mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats, and prey such as deer. By 1923, hunting had dramatically reduced the populations of these predators, leading to a significant increase in deer numbers. The most likely explanation for the population increase of deer is that with fewer predators, there was less predation pressure on the deer, allowing them to live longer and have more offspring. Consequently, the deer population grew because of this low predation and high survivability and reproduction among the deer.