Question

Consider the following food chain:

Garden plants are eaten by snails, which are eaten by birds, which are eaten by the household cat.

What happens to the other members of the food chain if the cat is removed?
a.
The number of plants, snails, and birds increase.
b.
The number of plants and snails increase and the number of birds decreases
c.
The number of plants increases and the number of snails and birds decrease.
d.
The number of plants and birds increase and the number of snails decreases.

Answer 1

Answer: d.

Removing the cat (top predator) reduces predation on birds, so bird numbers rise. More birds eat more snails, so snail numbers fall. With fewer snails grazing on plants, plant numbers increase.