Question

From his research on elephants, Steven Blake learned that elephants have a significant role in enhancing the biodiversity of their habitats. For one, they help in seed dispersal throughout the forest as they deposit the seeds of fruit they eat, with a generous helping of fertilizer. Elephants also order the physical structure of the forest by trampling woody vegetation and opening up the habitat in ways that facilitate diverse plant growth and keep the ecosystem healthy. Such an outsize role by one species that impacts its community in such a dramatic fashion suggests that elephants are a(n)

Answer 1

Answer:

Keystone species

Explanation:

A keystone species is the one that affects the structure and function of the community irrespective of its small population size. The keystone species is not the most abundant species of the community but occupies an ecological niche that regulates and maintains the structure and function of the rest of the community.

Elephants serve in the dispersal of seeds, make new habitats for various plant species by crushing the woody plants with their feet. Since elephants are shown to regulate the species richness by making space for new species and seed dispersal, they are the keystone species.