In 1995, after being locally extinct for over 70 years, wolves were reintroduced

Question

In 1995, after being locally extinct for over 70 years, wolves were reintroduced to the park. Over the next several years, wolves spread throughout the park and established several new packs. Wolves’ primary prey are elk, but they also eat bison, mule deer, and coyotes.

Suppose that a wolf dies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and all the carbon in its body becomes available. Where does a typical carbon atom from the wolf go once it is released from the wolf?

Question 28 options:

Soil microbes make that carbon available for plants to take up through their roots.

Decomposers consume carbon from the wolf’s body and release the carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

The organic carbon becomes inorganic and stays in the soil.

The carbon in the wolf’s body will naturally degrade.

Soil microbes make that carbon available for plants to take up through their roots.

Decomposers consume carbon from the wolf’s body and release the carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

The organic carbon becomes inorganic and stays in the soil.

The carbon in the wolf’s body will naturally degrade.

Explanation / Answer

Ans. Option 1. Incorrect. Note that plant take up carbon in form of CO2 through stomata of leaves during photosynthesis. There is no uptake of carbon through roots of plants.

Option 2. Correct. Decomposers, being heterotopic, finally release organic carbon (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids in dead wolf tissue/ carcass) into inorganic carbon in form of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Option C. Incorrect. Inorganic carbon, principally CO2, is released into atmosphere for recycling. CO2 does not remain in soil, except traces.

Option D. Carbon does not degrade. It is only recycled from organic forms (biomolecules) to inorganic forms (CO2) when an organism dies.

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