Question

Consider the following food chain:
Plants are eaten by grasshoppers, which are eaten by mice, which are eaten by snakes.

What would happen to the other members of the food chain if the plant population was wiped out?
a.
The populations of grasshoppers, mice, and snakes would increase.
b.
The populations of grasshoppers and mice would increase, while the population of snakes would decrease.
c.
The populations of grasshoppers would decrease, while the population of mice and snakes would increase.
d.
The populations of grasshoppers, mice, and snakes would decrease.



Please select the best answer from the choices provided


A
B
C
D

Answer 1

D

If plants are wiped out, grasshoppers lose their food source and decline. That reduces food for mice, so mice decline, and with fewer mice, snakes also decline — a trophic cascade causing decreases at all higher levels.