Plants → Deer → Lion
In the given food chain, what will be the impact of removing all the organisms of second trophic level on the first and third trophic level? Will the impact be the same for the organisms of the third trophic level in the above food chain if they were present in a food web? Justify.

Question

Plants → Deer → Lion
In the given food chain, what will be the impact of removing all the organisms of second trophic level on the first and third trophic level? Will the impact be the same for the organisms of the third trophic level in the above food chain if they were present in a food web? Justify.

KnowledgeBoat · Accepted Answer

In the food chain:
Plants → Deer → Lion,

If all deer (second trophic level) are removed then :

First trophic level (Plants):
Their population will increase, because there are no herbivores left to graze on them.
Third trophic level (Lions):
Their population will decrease and may die out, because their main food source (deer) is no longer available.

However, if lions were part of a food web instead of a single food chain, the impact would be less severe, because in a food web, lions have alternate prey options (for example, zebra or goat). Thus, the loss of one prey species (deer) would not immediately threaten their survival.

Science

Environment

Answer

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