Question

the food web below shows the relationships between organisms in a boreal forest biome. snowshoe hare populations rise and fall in different years. most other small herbivores hibernate through the winter. this affects the winter food supply for predators. what factor in this ecosystem allows coyotes to survive in years with low snowshoe hare populations? productivity of producers amount of predators diversity of primary consumers open niches for secondary consumers

Explanation:

In the food - web, coyotes can prey on multiple primary consumers like snowshoe hare, small rodents, and red squirrel. When snowshoe hare populations are low, the diversity of other primary consumers allows coyotes to find alternative food sources and survive. Productivity of producers affects the overall ecosystem but not directly the coyote's survival when hare populations are low. The amount of predators does not help coyotes survive when their main prey is scarce. Open niches for secondary consumers are not relevant to coyote survival in this context.

Answer:

C. Diversity of primary consumers