Foresters recently noticed an apparent drop in the squirrel population in a near-by oak-hickory forest. the squirrels eat acorns produced on the oak trees; hawks eat squirrels. the foresters are not sure what is causing the decline in the squirrel population but they are concerned that both the squirrel and hawk populations will disappear. how could they best find an answer to their question?

a) tag and track the hawks i the area
b)conduct a decade long population study
c) monitor the acorn production of the oak trees for several seasons
d) use a computer simulation model of the potential first population

c) Monitor the acorn production of the oak trees for several seasons.

Explanation:

A food chain is the chain of transmission of food and energy when one organism consumes the other organism in an ecosystem.

According to the given situation, the squirrel population is dependent upon the oak trees as source of food. The hawks are dependent upon the population of squirrel as source of food. The certain decline of the squirrel as well as the hawk population may be due to the decrease in production of the oak trees for several seasons. This will reduce the population of the squirrel due to lack of food and the likelywise the population of hawk will also decline as the population will not receive squirrels as food.

the principles and empirical processes of discovery and demonstration considered characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to test the hypothesis, and development of a conclusion that confirms, rejects, or modifies the hypothesis.