Use the figure to answer the following question.

In the figure, imagine that community 4 represents a marine community off the coast of Florida, where overfishing of a particular trophy fish (imagine a species G)for two decades gradually shifted it to resemble community 3. The species that was overfished was likely
A) an invasive species
B) a keystone species
C) a primary producer
D) species A, B, C, E, and F

Question

Use the figure to answer the following question.

In the figure, imagine that community 4 represents a marine community off the coast of Florida, where overfishing of a particular trophy fish (imagine a species G)for two decades gradually shifted it to resemble community 3. The species that was overfished was likely
A) an invasive species 
B) a keystone species 
C) a primary producer 
D) species A, B, C, E, and F

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Community 3 is missing a trophic level, which suggests a keystone predator was removed. Since marine communities are often top-down controlled, the removal of a top predator could lead to an increase in the population of the prey species. Therefore, it is likely that the overfished species was a keystone predator like species G.

Use the Figure to Answer the Following Question