What is one effect of ecosystem disturbances on energy flow and nutrient cycles?

• A. Disturbances have no lasting impact on ecosystems
• B. Disturbances can kill individuals, alter habitats, create opportunities for invasives, and shift energy flow and nutrient cycles
• C. Disturbances only affect abiotic factors
• D. Disturbances always increase energy efficiency in trophic transfer

Answer: (B)

When disturbances occur, they disrupt who is present and how energy moves through the ecosystem, reshaping both energy flow and nutrient cycles. By killing individuals, changing habitats, and opening space for new species (including invasives), disturbances alter predator–prey relationships, decomposition rates, and how nutrients are stored and recycled. This cascading effect can reconfigure which organisms capture energy at each trophic level and how quickly nutrients move through the system, leading to shifts in overall ecosystem functioning. The other statements don’t fit because disturbances can have lasting impacts beyond the immediate event, they affect both biotic and abiotic factors, and energy transfer is not guaranteed to become more efficient afterward.