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A student was investigating the populations of organisms in a garden - Edexcel - GCSE Biology Combined Science - Question 1 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 1
A student was investigating the populations of organisms in a garden. Figure 1 shows the estimates of the number and biomass of some of the organisms in the garden.... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A student was investigating the populations of organisms in a garden - Edexcel - GCSE Biology Combined Science - Question 1 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
Step 2
Explain how killing the slugs would affect the population of earthworms in this garden.
Answer
Killing the slugs would negatively affect the population of earthworms. This is because hedgehogs, which prey on both slugs and earthworms, would have one less food source (slugs) available. Consequently, the hedgehogs might increase their consumption of earthworms, leading to a decrease in their population as the predator-prey balance is disrupted. Additionally, since fewer slugs are available, the direct competition for resources might allow more earthworms to thrive if they were previously competing for food with slugs.