Question

a national park has a large population of deer. over the last five years, park rangers have noticed that the number of deer has increased rapidly, while the number of healthy trees and plants has declined. at the same time, wolves, the main predator of the deer, were removed from the park due to human concerns. how has the removal of wolves and the overpopulation of deer impacted the ecosystem?
a. the deer population has grown too large, leading to overgrazing and habitat destruction.
b. the ecosystem remains balanced because deer do not rely on wolves to control their population.
c. the removal of wolves has not impacted the deer population, but the loss of trees and plants will cause other predators to migrate into the park.
d. the number of deer will eventually decrease on its own, and the trees and plants will recover without any long-term effects.

Explanation:

Wolves (deer's main predator) were removed, so deer population increased rapidly. More deer means more grazing, which reduces healthy trees/plants (habitat destruction). Option B is wrong (ecosystem not balanced). Option C is wrong (wolf removal impacted deer population). Option D is wrong (no long - term effects is incorrect as overgrazing harms the ecosystem long - term). So A is correct.

Answer:

A. The deer population has grown too large, leading to overgrazing and habitat destruction.