I choose the first question: "If a top predator, like a wolf, starts to disappear from an ecosystem, what might happen to the animals lower on the food chain, such as deer and plants? Explain how this could affect the entire ecosystem."
If wolves start to disappear from an ecosystem, it can really mess things up. Wolves are important because they keep deer populations in check. Without enough wolves, deer can reproduce a lot since there are fewer predators to hunt them down. This means the number of deer would increase a ton, and they would eat more plants.
When there are too many deer, they munch on the vegetation, especially young trees and shrubs. This means that plants can't grow back because the deer eat them before they get a chance to develop. The loss of plants can also affect other animals that depend on those plants for food or shelter.
Plus, when the plants are gone, the soil can suffer from erosion because the roots are what hold the ground together. This can lead to more problems like water running off and causing floods or affecting the water quality in streams and rivers.
Overall, the disappearance of wolves can create a chain reaction that alters the whole ecosystem. Too many deer, less vegetation, and a whole bunch of other species struggling to find food or a place to live. It's like a domino effect that shows how important each part of an ecosystem is, especially top predators like wolves.