Low functional redundancy. Whaaaaaaat did you just say, Wednesday Science? That’s right, keystone species have low functional redundancy, meaning that they have a unique role in their ecosystem (if you want to learn more about ecosystems, visit our post about ecosystems). What are the most important parts of the ecosystems? Is there a special name for these important parts? What happens if they go extinct? This post is all about the most important parts of each ecosystem: the keystone species.
To start, what are keystone species? Keystone species are species in an ecosystem that affect the whole ecosystem, especially if removed. It's comparable to the stone that is key to the structure, or the species that is key to the ecosystem! For example, if in an ocean ecosystem, all of the sharks get removed, there will be an overabundance of fish, as not enough fish will be eaten. This overabundance of fish will lead to a decrease in sea plants, as the more fish will eat more sea plants. This decrease in sea plants will destroy the shelter and food source for many other animals in the ecosystem. Oh la la, what a chain reaction! This reaction due to change in a keystone species is actually also known as a trophic cascade. So to be more scientific: oh la la, what a trophic cascade!
There are many different types of keystone species, three of the main ones being predators, ecosystem engineers, and mutualists. Predators, the great eaters among us, keep prey population sizes in control, which in turn controls the state of the rest of the ecosystem. For example, in Yellowstone National Park, wolves keep the elk population stable, which keeps them from overgrazing, thereby leaving plants for the beavers to use.
Speaking of beavers! Beavers are actually another type of keystone species; they are the ecosystem engineers, meaning that they change or modify their habitat to a great degree. To be even more specific, beavers are allogenic engineers, changing their environment by changing the state of materials. On the other hand, there are autogenic engineers, which change their environment just by virtue of, well… being there! For example, trees are often their own mini-habitat for all kinds of creatures to call home!
Finally, there are the great mutualists, showing us the epitome of teamwork. Ever seen lichen? Well, that isn’t one organism; it’s actually two! Yes, lichen are a combination of a fungus and a cyanobacterium or algae (see our post about algae). Without one, the other cannot survive, and since they work together, they have a very unique function for the system they live in.
Keystone species are the most important parts of any ecosystem, and now you know why. Think of an ecosystem. Can you think of any species that may be keystones in that ecosystem? Hopefully you thought about yourself, because you are actually a member of a HYPERkeystone species! Since we go and live everywhere, we just change everything, don’t we. ;)
Photo credits: Hans Veth, Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/photos/8y--BAFlC9c
Post By: Roshni P. M. and Hannah W.
Sources:
Comments