Why Are Top-Level Predators Like Lions and Eagles So Rare

question 103

Multiple Choice

Why are top-level predators like lions and eagles so rare in a community?

• A)Only a small amount of the energy is passed from one trophic level to the next.
• B)They do not breed as fast as other animals.
• C)Predation by higher predators reduces their numbers.
• D)It is difficult for them to learn how to capture prey.
• E)Their job is to keep the population size of other animals in check.

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Definitions:

Nuclear Families

A family group consisting of parents and their children, regarded as a basic social unit.

Unilineal Descent

Descent traced exclusively through either the male or the female line of ancestry to establish group membership.

Matrilineal Descent

A lineage system where ancestral descent is traced through the mother's line rather than the father's.

Descent Group

A descent group is a social group whose members talk about common ancestry through either matrilineal or patrilineal lines, serving as a fundamental unit in the organization of societies.