Which species might increase in number if cormorants are removed from the food web?

The presence or absence of one species in a food web can significantly impact the populations of other species. If cormorants, which are known to be piscivorous (fish-eating) birds, are removed from the ecosystem, their role as predators on certain fish species diminishes. This could lead to an increase in the population of their prey, such as lake trout, as there would be fewer cormorants to consume them.

Eagles, which are also predatory birds, typically do not directly compete with cormorants for food since they hunt different prey or occupy different ecological niches. However, with fewer cormorants in the ecosystem, there could be a surplus of food sources available, including fish like lake trout and other smaller prey, which could support a larger eagle population. Therefore, the increase in food availability due to the reduction of cormorant populations can lead to an increase in eagle numbers as they benefit from the new dynamics of the ecosystem.

Other options like invertebrates or plankton would not have a direct increase in their population linked to the removal of cormorants since these organisms exist in different trophic levels and are not directly influenced by the predation patterns of cormorants in