Question

study the provided food web diagram. if a disease were to drastically reduce the population of producers, what would be the most likely long - term consequence for the entire ecosystem, and which organisms would be most affected? sev16 / dok 3 chesapeake bay waterbird food web tertiary consumers: osprey bald eagle secondary consumers: gulls and terns wading birds large piscivorous fish sea ducks tundra swan primary consumers: small planktivorous fish bivalves herbivores: zooplankton benthic invertebrates herbivorous ducks geese and mute swans primary producers: phytoplankton submerged aquatic vegetation (sav) vegetation a. the bald eagle population would increase because their main food source, the sea ducks, would have fewer competitors. b. the population of secondary consumers would increase, leading to a healthier ecosystem because there is less competition for resources. c. the population of primary consumers would crash, which would then lead to a decline in all other consumer populations. d. the bald eagle population would remain stable, as they are apex predators and their food sources are not directly impacted by changes to the producer population.

Explanation:

Producers form the base of the food - web. They provide energy for primary consumers. If producer populations decline, primary consumers lose their main food source. This would cause a crash in primary consumer populations. Since secondary and tertiary consumers rely on primary consumers (either directly or indirectly), all other consumer populations would then decline.

Answer:

C. The population of primary consumers would crash, which would then lead to a decline in all other consumer populations.