PLEASE HELP A LOT OF POINTS Grasses Grasshoppers Frogs Hawks Snakes Decomposers Which organisms in the food web shown above compete for the same food source in this environment? Decomposers and grasses Grasshoppers and snakes Frogs and snakes Hawks and frogs
The correct answer is c) Frogs and snakes.
Explanation:
In ecology, competition is a relationship between organisms that require the same type of limited resources in the same place at the same time. In the context of a food web, this most often refers to two or more species preying on the same organism for food. To answer the question, we need to analyze the provided food web to see which pair of organisms shares a food source.
The food web diagram uses arrows to show the direction of energy flow. An arrow pointing from one organism to another means the first organism is eaten by the second.
Let’s trace the food sources for each organism in the options:
- Grasses: Grasses are producers. They create their own food through photosynthesis and do not consume other organisms in the web.
- Grasshoppers: The arrow from Grasses points to Grasshoppers, indicating that Grasshoppers eat Grasses.
- Frogs: An arrow points from Grasshoppers to Frogs. This shows that Frogs eat Grasshoppers.
- Snakes: An arrow also points from Grasshoppers to Snakes. This shows that Snakes also eat Grasshoppers.
- Hawks: Arrows point from Frogs and Snakes to Hawks, meaning Hawks eat both Frogs and Snakes.
Now let’s evaluate the choices:
- a) Decomposers and grasses: This is incorrect. Grasses are producers, and decomposers break down dead organic matter from all trophic levels. They do not compete for a food source.
- b) Grasshoppers and snakes: This is incorrect. Snakes eat grasshoppers. This represents a predator-prey relationship, not competition for the same food.
- c) Frogs and snakes: This is correct. The diagram shows that both Frogs and Snakes have arrows pointing to them from Grasshoppers. This means both species consume grasshoppers as a food source. Therefore, they are in direct competition with each other for this resource.
- d) Hawks and frogs: This is incorrect. Hawks eat frogs. Like option b, this is a predator-prey relationship.
Because both frogs and snakes prey on grasshoppers, they compete for this shared food resource within their environment. A change in the grasshopper population would likely affect the populations of both frogs and snakes.
