Consider the following segment of a food web: If the removal of hawks from this part of the food web triggered a trophic cascade, what would be the effects, if any, on the population sizes of snakes and frogs?
A) There would be no effects on either population.
B) Snakes and frogs would both increase.
C) Snakes and frogs would both decrease.
D) Snakes would increase and frogs would decrease.
E) Snakes would decrease and frogs would increase.

Question

Consider the following segment of a food web:  If the removal of hawks from this part of the food web triggered a trophic cascade, what would be the effects, if any, on the population sizes of snakes and frogs?
A) There would be no effects on either population. 
B) Snakes and frogs would both increase. 
C) Snakes and frogs would both decrease. 
D) Snakes would increase and frogs would decrease. 
E) Snakes would decrease and frogs would increase.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If hawks were removed from the food web, the population of snakes would increase because they would have fewer predators eating them. However, the population of frogs would decrease as they become an easier food source for the growing snake population. Therefore, snakes would increase and frogs would decrease in population.

Consider the Following Segment of a Food Web: If