Question

If a disease strikes the snake population in the food chain shown, what will be the initial effect on the populations of hawks and rabbits?

Answer 1

The rabbit population will spike and the hawk population will drop

Step-by-step explanation:

Due to the lack of a natural predator, the rabbit population with see a very large increase.

The hawk population will see a very significant decrease, due to the lack of it's primary source of food (snakes).

Answer 2

The hawk population will drop while the rabbit population will rise.

Step-by-step explanation:

With the way the pyramid is structured, it shows that the rabbits eat grass, snakes eat the rabbits, and hawks eat the snakes. If the snakes are gone, the hawks will lose a food source, and their population will drop. Also, the rabbit population will rise, because the snakes eat the rabbits, and if the snakes are gone, they won't have any predators.