Use the information provided in the following paragraph to a…
Use the information provided in the following paragraph to answer questions 28 – 35. 250 years ago, the prairies of North America stretched across the center of the continent. Tall grass plant species, and thousands of species of wildflowers, dominated the landscape. The deep soils were rich with bacteria and fungi that would break down dead organic matter and release inorganic nutrients, which were absorbed by the roots of the plant communities, fueling their growth. Large populations of mice, voles, prairie dogs, rabbits, and other small mammals lived in subterranean burrows in the topsoil, consuming the seeds and leaves of various plants. Hawks and coyotes also called the prairie home, consuming many of the smaller herbivorous mammals in the grasslands. Huge populations of worms, arthropods, and other invertebrate animals also lived in the soil. Many species consumed the dead organic matter in the soil, but there were many other survival tactics employed by the invertebrate community. Some species of ticks would climb up from the soil to attach themselves to various mammal species. Using specialized feeding appendages, they pierce the animal’s skin and consume its blood. Once engorged, they return to the soil, digest the blood, and use the energy and organic matter to produce eggs. Enormous herds of bison migrated across the vast plains, consuming huge quantities of the abundant grasses. The fecal matter from the bison served as the primary source of food for certain species of dung beetles, who would consume the wastes left behind as the herd migrated to other areas. Packs of wolves would stalk the bison, killing mostly the slow, young, sick, and weak of the herd. Once the wolves were finished eating; vultures, coyotes, and other scavengers would attempt to consume what remained of the bison carcasses. Which of the following terms describes the interaction between the bison and the dung beetles?