Question

Food web starting with sun and pointing to grasshopper and squirrel; Grasshopper pointing to squirrel, wolf, and snake; squirrel pointing to wolf, snake, and bird; wolf pointing to decomposition with worms and mushrooms; snake pointing to wolf and decomposition with worms and mushrooms; bird pointing to decomposition with worms and mushrooms; decomposition pointing to the sun stating soil nutrients.

If we removed the wolf, snake, and hawk from this food web, what best explains the impact it would have?

The number of producers would increase.
The number of decomposers would increase.
The number of primary consumers would increase.
The numbers of primary consumers would decrease.

Answer 1

a decrease in the number of primary consumers

Step-by-step explanation:

Food web starting with the sun and pointing to the grasshopper and squirrel; the grasshopper pointing to the squirrel, wolf, and snake; the squirrel pointing to the wolf, snake, and bird; the wolf pointing to decomposition with worms and mushrooms; the snake pointing to the wolf and decomposition with worms and mushrooms; the bird pointing to decomposition with worms and mushrooms; decomposition pointing to the sun stating soil nutrients. If we removed the producers from this food web, how would it affect the balance of the ecosystem? There would be an increase in consumers and decomposers. There would be a decrease in consumers and decomposers. There would be a decrease in primary consumers and an increase in secondary consumers. There would be an increase in primary consumers and a decrease in secondary consumers.

Answer 2

If the wolf, snake, and hawk were removed from the food web, it would cause a decrease in the number of primary consumers. The grasshopper and squirrel are primary consumers that would no longer serve as prey for the snake, hawk, and wolf, resulting in their populations decreasing. Therefore, the number of primary consumers would decrease. The decomposers' population would not be affected by the removal of these organisms, and the number of producers would remain the same.