Question

Consider the following statements regarding

keystone species:

1. Keystone species have low functional redundancy.
2. Keystone species are always the largest or most abundant species in an ecosystem.

Which of the statement/s is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2​

Answer 1

Option A :- 1 Only

• Statement 2 is incorrect :- Keystone species are not always the largest or most abundant species in an ecosystem.

■ Explanation :-

• A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.

• Keystone species have low functional redundancy. This means that if the species were to disappear from the ecosystem, no other species would be able to fill its ecological niche.

• Any organism, from plants to fungi, may be a keystone species; they are not always the largest or most abundant species in an ecosystem. However, almost all examples of keystone species are animals that have a huge influence on food webs.

• Keystone species are also critical for the overall structure and function of an ecosystem, and influence which other types of plants and animals make up that ecosystem. Thus, in the absence of a keystone species, many ecosystems would fail to exist.

• A common example of keystone species in the context of conservation biology is the predator-prey relationship.

• Small predators that consume herbivorous species prevent such herbivores from decimating the plant species in the ecosystem, and are considered keystone species.

• In this scenario, despite the low number of predators required to maintain a low population of herbivorous species, without this keystone species, the herbivore population would continue to grow, and thus consume all of the dominant plant species in the ecosystem.

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