Keystone Species Definition
A keystone species is a species that is necessary to maintain ecosystem health. Without it, the ecosystem would change drastically.
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Maintaining Biodiversity
Fun Facts
- Keystone species are not the same in every ecosystem.
- Removing sea stars, the keystone species in tide pools, causes ecosystems to collapse.
- Sea otters are keystone species in nearshore kelp forests.
Why Do We Need To Know About Keystone Species
Learning about keystone species helps us know how ecosystems work and why having many different kinds of life is important for people to survive. Keystone species, like wolves in Yellowstone, have a big job in keeping ecosystems healthy. Their presence can affect the whole ecosystem, like how wolves help control the number of other animals and help lots of different plants and animals thrive.
This knowledge is useful for jobs. People who work in saving nature and making rules to protect the environment need to understand about keystone species. They use this knowledge to make plans to keep the variety of life safe, which helps keep ecosystems working well. This is important for the health of the planet and for people too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check out the Full Lesson on Maintaining Biodiversity
In this lesson, we learn that:
- Biodiversity describes the number of different kinds of organisms in an ecosystem.
- Scientists measure biodiversity to determine an ecosystem's health.
- Humans depend on healthy ecosystems for food, medicine and clean water.
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