Use the image to answer the question below.

Question

The plants are eaten by consumers at the first level, such as rat, grasshopper, frog, squirrel, whiptail, and deer. The consumers at the second level, such as ringtail, eagle, and pine marten eat the consumers at the first level. The consumers at the third level, such as wolf, mountain lion, and cat eat the consumers at the second level. Some of the consumers at the first level are also eaten by consumers at the third level.



Which one of the following animals is most likely to be a keystone species, based on the food web provided?

(1 point)
Responses

deer
deer

frog
frog

grasshopper
grasshopper

Mouse

Answer 1

Based on the given information about the food web and the roles of different consumers, the animal most likely to be a keystone species would be the deer.

Keystone species are those that have a disproportionately large effect on their environment relative to their abundance. Deer, being herbivores, help maintain the vegetation levels which in turn supports the entire food web. If deer populations are drastically reduced, it could lead to an overgrowth of plants that may alter the habitat, affecting all other species in the ecosystem.

In contrast, the other options like frogs, grasshoppers, and mice, while important, typically do not have the same broad impact on the ecosystem as herbivores like deer.