Final answer:
Replacing parks with buildings typically leads to a decline in plant and animal populations due to habitat loss, increased pollution, and the effects of climate change. These changes disrupt ecosystems, leading to long-term negative impacts on native species and the loss of ecosystem services.
Step-by-step explanation:
Impact of Buildings on Plant and Animal Populations
When buildings replace parks, the most likely outcome is b) they may cause a decline in plant and animal populations. Parks often serve as urban biodiversity hotspots, providing habitat for various plant and animal species. The construction of buildings where parks once existed typically leads to habitat loss, negatively impacting biodiversity. This effect is compounded by ancillary issues such as increased pollution and challenges associated with climate change. Relocation of wildlife can occur, but it is typically to less optimal habitats, leading to a strain on the surviving populations. Moreover, urbanization and the irreversible replacement of natural habitats with artificial ones disrupt established ecosystems, causing long-term impacts on native species.
Other possible effects of such developments include changes in the local ecosystem's function, potentially resulting in the loss of ecosystem services like pollination and water filtration, and the introduction of invasive species that further displace native plants and animals. Urban ecology is a growing field of research due to the rapid pace of urbanization, and it is critical to understand how these changes affect local species.