Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
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 ...
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 well as human development vastly ...
Dams restrict water flow, and lodges serve as shelters. Their infrastructure creates wetlands used by many other species, and because of their effect on other organisms in the ecosystem, beavers are considered a keystone species. Adult males and females live in monogamous pairs with their offspring. After their first year, the young help their ...
A saguaro can absorb and store considerable amounts of rainwater, visibly expanding in the process, while slowly using the stored water as needed. This characteristic enables the saguaro to survive during periods of drought. It is a keystone species, and provides food and habitat to a large number of species.
Since the 1960s, a remnant population of sea otters has revived Monterey Bay. But they can't migrate north throughout their historic range without human help.
Starfish, such as the ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) and the reef sea star (Stichaster australis), have become widely known as examples of the keystone species concept in ecology. The tropical crown-of-thorns starfish ( Acanthaster planci ) is a voracious predator of coral throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and the Northern Pacific ...
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]