If biodiversity decreases in an ecosystem, which outcome is most likely?

• A. Increased resilience
• B. Decreased stability
• C. More energy in the food web
• D. Faster growth of all species

Answer: (B)

Biodiversity keeps ecosystems steady because a variety of species fills many roles and can compensate for changes. When the number of species decreases, there are fewer interactions and less redundancy to absorb disturbances like drought, disease, or climate shifts. The remaining species face more pressure, and disruptions can ripple through the food web, making the ecosystem harder to recover from. So, stability tends to decline as biodiversity falls. The other ideas don’t fit because energy flow relies on a network of feeding relationships that shrinks with fewer species, and growth rates across all species don’t automatically speed up just because diversity is lower.