The jaguar: a keystone, flagship, and umbrella species, and an apex predatorThe beaver: a keystone species, and habitat creator, responsible for the creation of lakes, canals and wetlands irrigating large forests and creating ecosystems
Keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept 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 helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community. Without keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Some keystone species, such as the wolf and lion are also apex predators.
The role that a keystone species plays in its ecosystem is analogous to the role of a keystone in an arch. While the keystone is under the least pressure of any of the stones in an arch, the arch still collapses without it. Similarly, an ecosystem may experience a dramatic shift if a keystone species is removed, even though that species was a small part of the ecosystem by measures of biomass or productivity.
It became a popular concept in conservation biology, alongside flagship and umbrella species. Although the concept is valued as a descriptor for particularly strong inter-species interactions, and has allowed easier communication between ecologists and conservation policy-makers, it has been criticized for oversimplifying complex ecological systems.
Keystonespecies is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in...
A cultural keystonespecies is one which is of exceptional significance to a particular culture or a people. Such species can be identified by their prevalence...
": 612 A keystonespecies is a species that is connected to a disproportionately large number of other species in the food-web. Keystonespecies have lower...
Look up keystone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Keystone or key-stone may refer to: Keystone (architecture), a central stone or other piece at the...
of many species. The umbrella species is often either a flagship species whose conservation benefits other species: 280 or a keystonespecies which may...
which creates an inhospitable environment for fish, plants, and other keystonespecies such as coral reefs For example the Emperor Penguins, which rely on...
natural range". Robert Paine (1969) first came up with the concept of a keystonespecies while studying the effects of the predatory sea star Pisaster ochraceus...
key components of rewilding incorporate large core protected areas, keystonespecies, and ecological connectivity based on the theory that large predators...
top-down control on organisms in their community are often considered keystonespecies. Apex predators can have profound effects on ecosystems, as the consequences...
important cause of species extinctions, it is certainly an insidious one." Coextinction is especially common when a keystonespecies goes extinct. Models...
innovation. Some species, called a keystonespecies form a central supporting hub unique to their ecosystem. The loss of such a species results in a collapse...
open shells makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. In most of its range, it is a keystonespecies, controlling sea urchin populations which...
seastar found among the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Identified as a keystonespecies, P. ochraceus is considered an important indicator for the health of...
different species of plants, as well as fish and small invertebrates to a lesser extent. Sea otters are a classic example of a keystonespecies; their presence...
some salmon species that have adapted to spend their entire life in freshwater like trout. In Northwest America, salmons are keystonespecies, which means...
(Stichaster australis), have become widely known as examples of the keystonespecies concept in ecology. The tropical crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster...
clades, but many oak species hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve. Ecologically, oaks are keystonespecies in habitats from Mediterranean...
making trout keystonespecies across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The name "trout" is commonly used for many (if not most) species in three of the...
used by many other species, and because of their effect on other organisms in the ecosystem, beavers are considered a keystonespecies. Adult males and...
a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species...
An invasive species is an introduced species to an environment that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect...
they stay near water when it is accessible. They are considered to be keystonespecies, due to their impact on their environments. Elephants have a fission–fusion...
been proposed that the term "ecosystem engineers" be used only for keystonespecies whose behavior very strongly affects other organisms. Jones et al....
open the shellfish that form a significant part of its diet. It is a "keystonespecies", keeping its prey populations in balance so some do not outcompete...
various marine mammals who dwell in oceans, as well as various freshwater species, such as the European otter. They are not a taxon and are not unified by...
hilly crags in central India and south India. The Indian vulture is a keystonespecies that has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List...
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