Food Chain Gizmo Answer Key

If a disease strikes the snake population in the food chain shown, what will be the initial effect on the populations of hawks and rabbits?

Answer:D. The population of hawks will decrease. The population of rabbits will increase.

In the stable food chain shown below, what would you expect to happen initially if you were to suddenly double the population of rabbits?

Answer:C. The grass population would decrease. The snake population and hawk population would increase.

What event within the food chain might lead to the graph shown below?

Answer:A. A disease in the population of rabbits.

What most likely caused the rabbit population to decrease over the first time unit shown in the following graph?

Answer:D. A higher than normal population of snakes.

Trapping has severely reduced the population of rabbits in an ecosystem, as shown in the bar graph below. What is the most likely effect this will have on other organisms?

Answer:A. The snake population will decrease rapidly and the grass population will increase rapidly.

Consumer

Answer:An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms

Ecosystem

Answer:A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Energy Pyramid

Answer:Shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web

Equilibrium

Answer:A state of balance. Ex. Populations at equilibrium will not change much.

Food Chain

Answer:A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy.

Population

Answer:A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

Predator

Answer:An animal that hunts other animals for food

Prey

Answer:An organism that is killed and eaten by another organism

Producer

Answer:An organism that can make its own food.