Smelts are the primary food source for lake trout and salmon in Moosehead. In the late 1980s, we documented a dramatic increase in the abundance of wild lake trout in Moosehead Lake. Swelling lake trout numbers taxed the forage base and the smelt population took a dive. What was the result of depletion of the smelt population? Choose all that apply.
A) salmon populations declined
B) all three populations increased
C) all three populations would decrease
D) growth rates of both lake trout and salmon suffered
E) salmon population would decrease but the others would remain unchanged