Plants, bison, elk, and wolves are all members of an ecosystem. The bison and elk are both primary consumers in this ecosystem, while the wolves are a predator. Over time, the bison completely disappear. Give an example of how the ecosystem may respond to this change, and explain how this relates to both resiliency and biodiversity. please this is confusing for me

Answer 1

If bison completely disappeared from the ecosystem, the population of primary consumers would decline drastically. This could lead to a decrease in the population of predators that rely on bison for food, such as the wolves, due to the competition for limited resources. The reduction in the number of predators could then lead to an increase in the population of other herbivorous animals that remain in the ecosystem, such as deer or rabbits, since there are fewer predators to prey on them.

This change in the ecosystem highlights the importance of both resiliency and biodiversity. Resiliency refers to the ability of an ecosystem to adapt and recover from disturbances or changes. In this case, the elimination of bison could lead to a disturbance in the ecosystem, but the presence of other herbivorous animals could allow the ecosystem to maintain some level of resiliency.

Biodiversity, on the other hand, refers to the variety of different species present in an ecosystem, and a loss of biodiversity can make the ecosystem less resilient to disturbances. Losing bison, which are an integral part of the food chain as primary consumers, can have a ripple effect on the entire ecosystem. This is why maintaining biodiversity is important to protect the future of ecosystems.