Question
Suppose a new resort hotel is built on a hawksbill sea turtle nesting site, and hotel guests start removing the queen angelfish from the nearby reef to stock their home aquaria. If the hawksbill sea turtles and queen angelfish are removed, which organism is most likely to benefit?
Staghorn corals
Star corals
Sponges
Algae
Staghorn corals
Star corals
Sponges
Algae
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
If hawksbill sea turtles and queen angelfish are removed from the ecosystem, the organisms most likely to benefit from this scenario are **algae**.
Hawksbill sea turtles help control sponge populations by feeding on them, and queen angelfish feed on algae, keeping its growth in check. The removal of both these species would likely lead to increased algae growth. Without the ecological balance that these species provide, algae could proliferate unchecked, potentially leading to algal overgrowth on reefs, which can be detrimental to coral health and biodiversity.
Hawksbill sea turtles help control sponge populations by feeding on them, and queen angelfish feed on algae, keeping its growth in check. The removal of both these species would likely lead to increased algae growth. Without the ecological balance that these species provide, algae could proliferate unchecked, potentially leading to algal overgrowth on reefs, which can be detrimental to coral health and biodiversity.
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