The black-tailed prairie dog is a keystone species in Badlands National Park. "Their constant
cropping of vegetation stimulates faster and more nutritious growth, while their burrows
provide homes and hunting grounds for many organisms, large and small."
Why might the desert pocket mouse population decrease in this ecosystem if the black-
tailed prairie dog were removed?
O The desert pocket mouse would develop a mutualistic relationship with coyotes.
The desert poket mouse would lose its strategy for evading predators.
O The desert pocket mouse would be free to reproduce more.
O The desert pocket mouse would have more food to eat.