The starfish Pisaster is an important predator in the intertidal communities of which coast?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → American Pacific Coast
A predator can keep a community rich in species. When it eats the prey species that compete most strongly, the weaker competitors are not pushed out. The book’s example is the starfish Pisaster on the rocky shores between high and low tide (the intertidal zone) of the American Pacific Coast. When it was removed in an experiment, many other species of invertebrates died out.
NCERT Extract:
Population Interactions – “… Predators also help in maintaining species diversity in a community, by reducing the intensity of competition among competing prey species. In the rocky intertidal communities of the American Pacific Coast the starfish Pisaster is an important predator. In a field experiment, when all the starfish were removed from an enclosed intertidal area, more than 10 species of invertebrates became extinct within a year, because of interspecific competition.”