Final answer:
3. The lynx reproduce at a higher rate. When the snowshoe hare population increases, providing more food for the lynx, the lynx reproduce at a higher rate. This increase in lynx population is followed by a decrease in the hare population due to higher predation, also influenced by density-dependent factors like crowding and reduced fecundity in hares.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the lynx–snowshoe hare oscillating cycle of population growth, when the hare population size grows, providing more food for the lynx, the immediate next step in this cycle is that the lynx reproduce at a higher rate. This is due to the increased availability of food enabling better survival and reproductive success of the lynx. As the lynx population increases, they eventually exert higher predation pressure on the hares, leading to a decrease in the hare population. This is part of the well-documented predator-prey dynamics, where fluctuations in the prey population (in this case, hares) lead to corresponding fluctuations in the predator population (lynxes), generally lagging by one to two years.
More recent studies have suggested that this cycle is not solely governed by predation but also by density-dependent factors such as lower fecundity (reproductive capacity) and maternal stress due to overcrowding when the hare population becomes too dense. Nonetheless, when hare numbers begin to decline due to these pressures, so does the lynx population as a result of a reduced food source, eventually allowing the hare population to recover when predation pressure is low, and the cycle begins anew.