Q.Poaching of tiger is a burning issue in today's world. What implication would this activity have on the functioning of the ecosystem of which the tigers are an integral part?

Tigers are apex predators, occupying the highest trophic level in their ecosystem. Their removal through poaching would have severe implications, primarily by disrupting the delicate balance of the food web and the structure of ecological pyramids.

Here's how:

• Trophic Cascade: With the absence of tigers, their primary prey, such as deer and wild boar, would experience an unchecked population increase due to reduced predation pressure.
• Impact on Producers: This surge in herbivore populations would lead to overgrazing of vegetation (primary producers like grasses and trees). This overconsumption would degrade the habitat, reduce plant diversity, and hinder forest regeneration. …

To understand the profound implications of tiger poaching, we must first grasp the fundamental concept of an ecological pyramid. An ecosystem is a complex web of interactions between living organisms and their non-living environment. Within this system, organisms are organised into different feeding levels, known as trophic levels, based on how they obtain energy.

An ecological pyramid graphically represents these trophic levels, typically with producers (like plants) at the base, followed by primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores that eat herbivores), and tertiary consumers (carnivores that eat other carnivores) at the top. This structure illustrates the flow of energy, biomass, or numbers from one level to the next, with a significant reduction at each successive level.

The tiger's role as an apex predator is crucial for maintaining the health and balance of its ecosystem. They primarily prey on large herbivores such as deer, sambar, wild boar, and gaur. By hunting these animals, tigers regulate their populations, preventing them from overgrazing vegetation and ensuring the vitality of the plant community.

The poaching of tigers, therefore, has a cascading effect throughout the entire ecosystem, leading to a phenomenon known as a 'trophic cascade'. Here are the key implications:

• Unchecked Increase in Herbivore Populations: With the removal of their primary predator, the populations of herbivores like deer and wild boar would likely increase significantly. There would be fewer natural controls on their numbers, allowing them to reproduce more freely.
• Overgrazing and Habitat Degradation: An explosion in herbivore numbers would lead to excessive grazing and browsing pressure on the vegetation. This overconsumption of plants can degrade forests, reduce plant diversity, and even lead to desertification in extreme cases. The base of the ecological pyramid, the producers, would suffer immense damage, impacting the primary productivity of the entire ecosystem.
• Impact on Other Species:
  • Competition for Resources: The decline in vegetation due to overgrazing would reduce food availability for other herbivores, leading to increased competition and potential starvation for some species.
  • Effect on Smaller Predators: Other smaller predators and scavengers might initially benefit from an increase in herbivore carcasses, but the long-term degradation of the habitat and the instability of the food web would eventually affect them negatively. Their prey base might shift or decline as the ecosystem becomes less productive.
• Loss of Biodiversity: The disruption of the food web and the degradation of habitat can lead to a decline in overall biodiversity. Some plant species might be grazed to extinction, and other animal species dependent on specific plants or a balanced ecosystem might also disappear. The intricate web of life unravels, making the ecosystem less resilient to further disturbances. …

Trace the disturbance forward one trophic level at a time using arrows — tiger removed -> prey population up -> producers grazed down -> knock-on effects on other species — and describe each arro …