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A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance. The concept was introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and ...
An ecosystem engineer is any species that creates, significantly modifies, maintains or destroys a habitat. These organisms can have a large impact on species richness and landscape-level heterogeneity of an area. [1] As a result, ecosystem engineers are important for maintaining the health and stability of the environment they are living in.
A cultural keystone species is one which is of exceptional significance to a particular culture or a people. Such species can be identified by their prevalence in language, cultural practices (e.g. ceremonies), traditions, diet, medicines, material items, and histories of a community. [1][2][3] These species influence social systems and culture ...
Science & Tech. Shopping. Sports. ... One of the most widely-understood and studied keystone species is the beaver, whose extinction in many places of the world due to over-hunting for its fur as ...
Some species, called a keystone species form a central supporting hub unique to their ecosystem. [128] The loss of such a species results in a collapse in ecosystem function, as well as the loss of coexisting species. [5] Keystone species are usually predators due to their ability to control the population of prey in their ecosystem. [128]
A keystone species is a species that is connected to a disproportionately large number of other species in the food-web. Keystone species have lower levels of biomass in the trophic pyramid relative to the importance of their role. The many connections that a keystone species holds means that it maintains the organization and structure of ...
The sea otter is a prime example of a keystone species. A keystone species is a singular species within an ecosystem that others within the same ecosystem, or the entire ecosystem itself, rely upon. [20] Keystone species' are so vital for an ecosystem that without their presence, an ecosystem could transform or stop existing entirely. [20]
Robert T. Paine (zoologist) Robert Treat "Bob" Paine III (April 13, 1933 – June 13, 2016) was an American ecologist who spent most of his career at the University of Washington. Paine coined the keystone species [1][2][3] concept to explain the relationship between Pisaster ochraceus, a species of starfish, and Mytilus californianus, a ...