Food Web in the Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystem:

1. A. Plants are eaten by the Squirrels and other small rodents, insects, Pronghorn and other grazers.

B. Snakes are eaten by the Badger and Raptor

C. Insects are eaten by the Bat, Lizards and other small reptiles

D. Mountain Lions are not eaten by anything, unless they are decomposed by other organisms

2. If coyotes are continuously shot in the southwestern states, chances are, that the lizards and small reptiles, Pronghorn and other grazers will increase in population due to not enough coyotes to feed on them. This will reduce the amount of primary producers, which will be fed on by the growing population of the grazers. Insects population will decrease as they’ll be eaten by the growing population of the small reptiles, this actually helps the primary producers a bit, as one of their consumers population will decrease, they’re population will increase by a bit, maybe enough to feed the growing herds of the grazers.

3. If there was an increase in mountain lions population, then the populations of Pronghorn and other grazers will decrease, meaning there will be less grazers for the coyote to eat. This means the coyote will have to fall back on its other prey; small reptiles. With few grazers, the primary producers population will increase, meaning more food for the insects, squirrels and insects.

4. The effect Mesquite trees will have on the above ecosystem is that, the primary producers may have a tough time growing thanks to the Mesquite trees ability to gather plenty of water efficiently. This will cut down the variety of plants the primary consumers can eat, because they won’t have enough water. The primary consumers will have to compete for Mesquite plants, and there won’t be enough, due to lack of variety, so the primary consumers population will decrease. Without enough primary consumers, the small predators will decrease in population and same goes for the larger predators.