Investigate the concept of keystone species and their critical role in maintaining the structure and stability of ecosystems
Krishnappa S
In essence, it refers to individual species in the ecosystem that influence it enormously and out of proportion to their prevalence. Besides, these species are very central in dictating the structure and stability of their settings and the kinds and quantities of other species present. It was named by the ecologist Robert Paine in 1969 and explicated that the extinction of the keystone species topples chain of events that distort community structure, and, in some cases, diminish the total number of species in that specific ecosystem. Keystone species may also be these species that prey on other species such as sea otters which act as predators of sea urchins or these species that alter the structure of their environment for instance beavers that build dams. They can also be mutual species for example, some animals that depend on flowering plants for pollination can be good examples. Exemplified by the role of wolves on moose population, mice, and plants, loss of keystone species will lead to the overexploitation of resources, overwhelming of a species, and future crashes in ecosystem effects. Thus, keystone species play the vital role in conservation of ecological balance, and they should be protected at all costs. Preserving keystone species is important to the stability and overall health of the world’s ecosystems because species help manage resources in the ecosystems.
Krishnappa S. Investigate the concept of keystone species and their critical role in maintaining the structure and stability of ecosystems. J Entomol Zool Stud 2017;5(5):2028-2031.