Living Environment Regents Practice Test

What role do smaller fish play when they follow sharks?

1. Parasites

2. Predators

3. Scavengers

4. Symbiotic partners

The correct answer is: Scavengers

Smaller fish that follow sharks often play the role of scavengers. As sharks move through their environment, they may leave behind scraps of food, or the smaller fish can take advantage of the leftovers from the sharks' hunting. This behavior allows the smaller fish to feed without expending as much energy hunting for their own food. The association between smaller fish and sharks can be beneficial because it provides the smaller fish with a source of food and a level of protection from predators. While the smaller fish benefit from this scavenging behavior, they also contribute to the ecosystem by helping clean up remains that could otherwise increase competition for resources or lead to unhealthy water conditions. Other roles such as parasites, predators, or symbiotic partners are not accurate in this context. Smaller fish do not typically attach themselves to sharks to derive nutrients, nor do they actively hunt the sharks, which eliminates the parasitic and predatory roles. While some smaller species can have mutualistic relationships with larger fish (like cleaning stations where they remove parasites), the primary interaction here with sharks revolves around scavenging rather than a mutualistic partnership.