Which one of the following statements cannot be connected to Predation? (NEET 2022)
Answer: (C) Both the interacting species are negatively impacted. Answer: (C) Both the interacting species are negatively impacted.
- A.It helps in maintaining species diversity in a community
- B.It might lead to extinction of a species
- C.Both the interacting species are negatively impacted✓
- D.It is necessitated by nature to maintain the ecological balance
Correct Answer
(C) Both the interacting species are negatively impacted
Solution & Explanation
Answer: (C) Both the interacting species are negatively impacted. Solution: Predation is a (+, -) interaction — the predator benefits while the prey is harmed; only one species is negatively impacted, not both (both being harmed describes competition). The other statements are true of predation: predators help maintain species diversity by reducing competition among prey, an overefficient predator can drive prey (and then itself) to extinction, and predation is essential for trophic energy transfer and ecological balance. Hence the statement that cannot be connected to predation is (C). NCERT: Ch 11, p.197, lines 3-6 — "In both parasitism and predation only one species benefits (parasite and predator, respectively) and the interaction is detrimental to the other species (host and prey, respectively)."