Question

read the passage. then answer the question below.

when a whale dies, its body often falls to the seafloor. the whales body then becomes food and shelter for organisms in the deep sea. this is called a whale fall. a deep-sea whale fall might support 200 different species for as long as 10 years!

larger species, such as atlantic hagfish, are the first to arrive to feed on the whale flesh. later, smaller species of snails and crustaceans come to eat the remaining flesh. worms burrow into the sand beneath the whale body, and bacteria feed on the whale bones.

at a deep-sea whale fall, the atlantic hagfish, the crustaceans, and the sand make up which of the following? select all that apply.

a population

part of a community

part of an ecosystem

Explanation:

• A population is a group of the same species. Since Atlantic hagfish, crustaceans are different species and sand is non - living, they don't form a population.
• A community is all the living organisms in an area. Atlantic hagfish and crustaceans are living (but sand is non - living). However, if we consider the context of the whale - fall ecosystem (where the question is about their role in the overall system), in terms of the broader ecological concepts applied here, when looking at the entire whale - fall as an ecosystem (which includes both living and non - living components), the living organisms (hagfish, crustaceans) are part of the community within that ecosystem. But more accurately, when considering the options in the context of the whole whale - fall (which is an ecosystem), the Atlantic hagfish, crustaceans (living) and sand (non - living) together are part of an ecosystem. Also, the living organisms (hagfish, crustaceans) among them are part of a community (as a community is all living species in an area).

Answer:

part of a community, part of an ecosystem