Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Interdependence in Ecosystems ~ Misconception IEM021

If a population in a food web is disturbed, there will be little or no effect on populations below it in the food web (e.g. if a predator is removed, no effect on prey: Webb & Boltt, 1990; Leach, 1996).

Items that test for misconception IEM021 in this project (Original Project) and key idea (All organisms, both land-based and …)
Item ID Number	Item Description	How Often the Misconception was Chosen
IE028005	Changes in a population may affect populations that are not directly connected by a feeding relationship even if they are several steps away and not within the same chain in a food web (no specific organisms identified).	24%
IE012011	Changes in a population in a food web (wolves) can affect populations of other organisms (grass) even if they are not directly connected in a feeding relationship.	20%
IE028006	Changes in a population (frogs) may affect populations that are not directly connected by a feeding relationship (mice) even if they are several steps away and not within the same chain in a food web.	20%
IE012012	Changes in a population in a food web (wolves) can affect populations of other organisms (grass) even if they are not directly connected in a feeding relationship (text only, no diagram).	16%
IE027005	Changes in a population in a food web (grasshoppers) can affect the populations of both its predator (frogs) and its prey (grass).	10%
IE027004	Changes in a population in a food web can affect the populations of both its predator and its prey (no specific organisms identified).	10%
IE073004	Changes in a population in a food web can affect the population of its prey (no specific organisms identified).	9%