Ecology
Trophic Cascade
A chain of effects through a food web caused by adding or removing top predators. Changes at the top cascade down through multiple trophic levels, dramatically altering ecosystem structure.
Biological Context
The classic example: wolves in Yellowstone. Removing wolves let elk overpopulate, overgrazing willows, eliminating beaver habitat, changing stream dynamics. Reintroducing wolves reversed these effects. Trophic cascades reveal how interconnected ecosystems are.
Business Application
Business trophic cascades: when removing or adding key players ripples through entire industries. A dominant platform's policy change affects developers, who affect end users, who affect advertisers.