Question

what would you expect to happen if sea otters were removed from this food web? check all that apply. the population of elephant seals would decrease. the population of kelp crabs would increase. the population of kelp would increase. the population of sea urchins would decrease. elephant seal sea otter horn shark kelp crab sea urchin kelp

Explanation:

1. Analyze the food web: Sea otters eat kelp crabs. If sea otters are removed, kelp crabs lose a predator, so their population should increase.
2. Sea urchins eat kelp, and horn sharks eat sea urchins, elephant seals eat horn sharks. Sea otters don't directly affect elephant seals, so their population won't decrease. Sea urchins' population isn't directly affected by sea otters' removal (their predator is horn shark), so sea urchin population won't decrease. Kelp is eaten by sea urchins and kelp crabs; with kelp crabs increasing (due to sea otter removal), kelp's population would decrease, not increase.

Answer:

The population of kelp crabs would increase.