Question

What happens when a keystone species is removed from an ecosystem

Answer 1

How would removing your umbrella in a rainstorm affect your ability to stay dry? The definition of a keystone species is a species that has a crucial role in an ecosystem. Removing one gear from a clock would stop the clock from working. Removing/changing a major contributer to a balance and natural ecosystem can potentially collapse the entire system altogether.

Answer 2

Answer:

The keystone species are those species that plays a very important role in the functioning of an ecosystem. They are those species in which a large number of organisms are directly dependent on. These species can be both plants and animals. In the absence of this species, the ecosystem will be in disequilibrium, affecting the other organisms that exist in the ecosystem. For example, Wolf and Jaguar.

The keystone species are predators that prevents a herbivorous species from wiping out a governing species of plants. If the number of prey is low, then these keystone predators could be even less in number but still will be powerful.

Many of the scientists have divided these keystone species into 3 types. They are as follows-

(1) Predators

(2) Ecosystem engineers

(3) Mutualists