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LEVEL T If the carrying capacity of a predator decreases, what will happen to the carrying capacity of the prey? A. Increase B. Decrease C. Stay the same D. Fluctuate

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LEVEL T
If the carrying capacity of a predator
decreases, what will happen to the
carrying capacity of the prey?
A. Increase
B. Decrease
C. Stay the same
D. Fluctuate

LEVEL T If the carrying capacity of a predator decreases, what will happen to the carrying capacity of the prey? A. Increase B. Decrease C. Stay the same D. Fluctuate

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QueenieMaster · Tutor for 5 years

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To answer this question, we need to understand the relationship between predators and their prey within an ecosystem, which is often described by the Lotka-Volterra equations in ecology. These equations model the dynamics of biological systems in which two species interact, one as a predator and the other as prey.Step 1: Understand the relationship between predator and prey.- Predators consume prey, which naturally reduces the prey population.- If the number of predators in an ecosystem decreases, there will be less predation pressure on the prey population.Step 2: Analyze the impact of a decrease in predator carrying capacity.- The carrying capacity is the maximum population size of a species that the environment can sustain indefinitely.- If the carrying capacity of a predator decreases, it means that the environment can support fewer predators.- With fewer predators, the predation rate on the prey will decrease.Step 3: Determine the effect on the prey's carrying capacity.- With less predation pressure, the prey population has the potential to increase because fewer individuals are being removed by predators.- As the prey population grows, it may approach or reach its own carrying capacity, which is determined by the resources available to the prey (e.g., food, habitat).Step 4: Extract the final answer.- If the carrying capacity of the predator decreases, the immediate effect would be a decrease in predation pressure on the prey. This could allow the prey population to increase, potentially leading to an increase in the carrying capacity of the prey, as long as resources for the prey are not limiting.Final Answer: A. Increase
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