El Niño is a short-term climatic change that causes ocean waters to remain warm when they should normally be cool. The warmer temperatures disrupt food webs and alter weather patterns. Which occurrence would most likely result from these changes?

1) Some species would become extinct, and other species would evolve to take their place.

2) Some populations in affected areas would be reduced, while other populations would increase temporarily.

3) The flow of energy through the ecosystem would remain unchanged.

4) The genes of individual organisms would mutate to adapt to the new environmental conditions.

The correct answer is 2) Some populations in affected areas would be reduced, while other populations would increase temporarily.

Explanation

The interaction between the El Niño maritime current (warm waters) and the Humboldt maritime current (cold waters) affects the fishing in different areas of the Pacific because the Humboldt current is very sensitive to the El Niño current, which heats the waters. This causes the surface water to heat up, putting the biodiversity of the area at risk, causing the cold water to be in areas further down and not to receive sunlight, reducing the production of plankton, which affects the entire food chain of cold-water species, while the warmer water species make a greater presence in these areas during this maritime phenomenon. So the correct answer is 2) Some populations in affected areas would be reduced, while other populations would increase temporarily.