An ecologist studied a grassland ecosystem that included hawks, mice, grasses, and snakes. She used the mark-and-recapture method to estimate the population of each type of organism in the ecosystem. Over a period of time, she observed that when the population of hawks in an ecosystem decreased, the population of mice increased, and the population of snakes remained nearly constant. Which is the best inference the ecologist could draw from these observations?
a) mice are primary consumers and eat grasses
b) hawks, snakes, and mice are part of unrelated food chains
c) hawks are predators of mice
d) only snakes are a food source for hawks
Ans: c) hawks are predators of mice
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