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Keystone species A keystone species is defined as one that occupies a niche whose benefit to an ecosystem is disproportionately large when compared to the abundance of the organism. Unfortunately, there is often a poor understanding of the full extent of a species relationship with its ecosystem until after removal of the species. For this reason, many keystone species remain unrecognized as such until their populations are in decline. The term keystone derives from architecture. The keystone in an arch is the stone at the top of the arch, which holds the rest of the stones in place and allows the arch to bear weight. See Fig. 1. Keystone species can perform a variety of functions: ! 67,89(#7$ $ ! :#&;67,89(#7$$ $ ! 67,-$ $ $ ! <#8'=',7>!&?'&,,7$$ $ $ ! @#.($ $ Understanding how organisms in an ecosystem interact can be very complex. Many organisms rely on each other for shelter, protection, and/or food. Ecologists use food chains and food webs as one way to study how these interactions move energy through the ecosystem. See Fig. 2. When a keystone predator is lost from an ecosystem, the effect is known as a trophic cascade. For example, when wolves were lost from Yellowstone, the population of the wolves prey (elk) exploded. As a result, the cottonwood and willow populations of Yellowstone declined from overgrazing. This impacted not only populations of birds that nest in these trees, but also the overall primary productivity of the community. When the populations of keystone species are affected, many other species are also directly affected as a result. Activity overview 1)Pick a keystone species 2)Identify what type of keystone species 3)Complete your research sheet on your species 4)Assemble the components of a your keystone species environment (food web) 5)Lay out your food web and present to your peer peers will fill out TOC#5: Keystone Species Presentation 6)Teacher will add invasive species into your food web to see affect.

Carolina Biological Supply Company Carolina Biological Supply Company grants teachers permission to photocopy or reproduce by other means this document in quantities sufficient for the students in his/her classroom. Also for the purposes of classroom use only, teachers may make an electronic file or overhead transparency of any or all pages in this document.

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Carolina Biological Supply Company Carolina Biological Supply Company grants teachers permission to photocopy or reproduce by other means this document in quantities sufficient for the students in his/her classroom. Also for the purposes of classroom use only, teachers may make an electronic file or overhead transparency of any or all pages in this document.