The red-cockaded woodpecker is a keystone species in pine forests of the southeastern United States. Red-cockaded woodpeckers feed on insects and nest in cavities that they bore into pine trees. Many other species of animals use these cavities
for roosting and nesting after they are abandoned by the woodpeckers.
If the population of red-cockaded woodpeckers suddenly decreased in a certain forest, which of the following would most likely
occur in the ecosystem over time?
ОА.
an increase in number for populations that are predators of woodpecken
ОВ.
a decrease in the number of pine tree cavities available for other species to nest in
OC. an increase in the number of species that live in pine tree cavities
D
a decrease in competition between other species that nest in pine tree cavities