Suppose a fungus killed a species of tree in a forest community. What might happen to the woodpecker species that nests in that kind of tree?
1 Answer
Possibly extinction.
Explanation:
Assuming that your woodpecker is "loyal" only to that species of tree, then that tree's absence will in effect prevent the woodpeckers from nesting, which in turn, prevents them from raising their offspring. If the situation continues, that woodpecker's population in the forest community will drop to zero as either the adults die out or are forced to migrate to other favorable nesting sites, neither of which give rise to a new woodpecker population in the same area.
However, if some woodpeckers managed to adapt by let's say choosing a new type of tree species to nest in, then only their and their offspring will survive. Other woodpeckers which fail to find new adaptations will get wiped out. Instances like these though rarely happen, which is the main reason why habitat destruction remains as one of the leading causes of extinction worldwide, particularly the Amazon Rainforest.
