Question

the table below describes the diet of several organisms that are found in a meadow ecosystem.
organism | diet
songbird | grasshoppers
mouse | seeds, grasshoppers
grasshopper | grass
fox | toads, mice, snakes, grasshoppers
snake | grasshoppers, mice, toads
toad | grasshoppers
which food web shows the correct feeding relationships among these organisms?
a grasshopper → songbird → mouse → toad
b seeds → toad → mouse → fox
c grass → grasshopper → toad → fox
d mouse → songbird → grass → snake

Explanation:

To determine the correct food web, we analyze the diet of each organism from the table:

• Grass is eaten by Grasshoppers (Grasshopper's diet is Grass).
• Grasshoppers are eaten by Toads (Toad's diet is Grasshoppers), Songbirds (Songbird's diet is Grasshoppers), Mice (Mouse's diet includes Grasshoppers), Snakes (Snake's diet includes Grasshoppers), and Foxes (Fox's diet includes Grasshoppers).
• Toads are eaten by Snakes (Snake's diet includes Toads) and Foxes (Fox's diet includes Toads).
• Mice are eaten by Snakes (Snake's diet includes Mice) and Foxes (Fox's diet includes Mice).
• Seeds are eaten by Mice (Mouse's diet includes Seeds).

Now let's analyze each option:

• Option A: The arrow direction is wrong. For example, Mouse does not eat Songbird, and Toad does not eat Mouse. So this is incorrect.
• Option B: Toad does not eat Seeds, and Mouse does not eat Toad. So this is incorrect.
• Option C: Grass is eaten by Grasshopper, Grasshopper is eaten by Toad, and Toad is eaten by Fox. This follows the feeding relationships from the table.
• Option D: The arrow direction is wrong. For example, Songbird does not eat Mouse, Grass does not eat Songbird, and Snake does not eat Grass. So this is incorrect.

Answer:

C. Grass $\longrightarrow$ Grasshopper $\longrightarrow$ Toad $\longrightarrow$ Fox