Question

What problems will arise if there is either an increase or decrease in the number of any component in a food chain or a food web?

Answer 1

If there is either an increase or decrease in the number of any component of a food chain or food web, there will be an imbalance of population in the food chain or food web. If a particular component is decreased, the organisms feeding on the components will also decrease in number. For example, if the population of tigers is increased, then the population of deer would decrease and a reduction in the deer population will lead to the starvation of tigers who will die afterwards. Similarly, if the population of tigers is decreased then the population of deer would increase. In this case, the deer would eat up all the grass and then will starve to death. All this will lead to the disruptions or extinction of one or more food chains in an ecosystem. Hence, it is very essential to maintain balance in nature in order to avoid such situations.