Keystone Species

John Wiens, an evolutionary biologist at Stony Brook University in New York says, “There is a terrible urgency to saving threatened species and habitats.” He continues in saying “As far as I can see, there is little urgency for bringing back extinct ones. Why invest millions of dollars in bring a handful of species back from the dead, when there are millions still waiting to be discovered, described, and protected?” This is a problem for many scientists and Paul R. Ehrlich states in his article, The Case of De- Extinction:It is a Fascinating but Dumb Idea, says that “It is much more sensible to put all the limited resources for science and conservation into preventing extinctions, by tackling the causes of demise….” This is proving that de-extinction is a bad idea because of the facts that it is more important to put money and research into conservation efforts. By focusing on de-extinction. We are tearing away our focus on these efforts and putting it into something that may or may not work. Something never tested that could possibly hurt not help the environment. Paul R Ehrlich also states that “De-extinction seems far- fetched, financially problematic, and extremely unlikely to succeed.” With de- extinction hindering conservation efforts and being unlikely to succeed it is clear that we should not even attempt de-extinction. However hindering conservation efforts is only one way that de-extinction is a bad

Since earth was created, there has been a natural phenomenon of species across the globe appearing and disappearing. However, in the past century, many species of animals have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Mainly, this rapidly occurring issue is caused by humans. Humans that contribute to the harmful actions that cause side effects such a pollution, deforestation, habitat loss and poaching. The natural rate of extinction pales in comparison to the extinction rate caused by all of these. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the current rate of extinction is 11,000 times greater than the natural extinction rate. Several different efforts have been made in order to stop or slow down the extinction of earth’s species. The Endangered Species Act is possibly the most successful example of these efforts. It’s main purpose is to get a commitment from the American people that they will work hand in hand to help save species that are at risk of becoming extinct and never returning. This act was put in place in 1973 and since then, no other law about the disappearance of wildlife has been quite as accomplished. Many different species that are protected under this law are either fully recovered or on their way to becoming safer. Laws like these are helping many different creatures left and right, however, at the alarming rate that they are disappearing, something else needs to be done. What people don’t seem to realize is that we depend on many of the animals that we are

An endangered species is a plant or an animal at risk of becoming extinct. Scientists have estimated that up to one-third of species in the U.S. are at a high risk of extinction. In addition to donating millions of acres of land, this is essential to the recovery and survival of the endangered; the Act has shown a ninety percent recovery rate for species in the U.S. The main causes of endangerment include loss of habitat, excessive hunting, and pollution.

Yellowstone National Park is located mostly in Wyoming but spreads into Idaho and Montana. Yellowstone national park has a Taiga biome. Taiga is the largest terrestrial biome in the world. It is primarily coniferous forest or boreal forest. The North American Taiga is at high elevations, in the mountainous western region. Within this park, there are various species of consumers, producers, prey, and predators. One very important species is the gray wolves. The gray wolves are one of the keystone species in Yellowstone National Park. A keystone species is a species that has a large effect on a community relative to the abundance of the species. This means that as the gray wolf population increases or decreases in this area, it will have some drastic effects on the entire community.

A keystone species are one that is essential to the function of the ecosystem as a whole. They are a biological foundation that supports the entire interworking of life. They are the ones that many other animals cannot do without and without them the ecosystem will unravel. Every summer millions of Atlantic salmon return to the coast to fill hundreds of streams and rivers, just as they have for hundreds of years feeding many different species including the local people, those throughout the nation and feeding many local economies. Yet quietly and without proper explanation the number of salmon is beginning to dwindle and is on the edge of distinctions. Few if any are returning to the rivers and those that are, are dying mysteriously before they have a chance to lay their eggs. One thing we do know is that salmon do not have an appropriate habitat for reproducing and the upbringing of the young and it is essential to have one for the continued existence of the species. Without them we will lose a key player in our ecosystem.

A few of these remaining species are extremely close to extinction and if we don’t do something soon we may very well lose them good. They’re becoming extinct from the destruction of their natural habitat.

A keystone species is a species whose presence in an ecosystem is crucial in determining the nature of the entire community, including its species composition and ecosystem functioning.

A keystone species is a species that has such a large impact on the ecosystem that without it other species couldn’t survive. A famous example of how keystone species affect the ecosystem can be the influence that wolves have on Yellowstone’s biodiversity. Without wolves, the ecologic balance in the park would be compromised: their absence would result in the overpopulation of elk, which causes a decrease of the vegetation to almost nothing.

We must be more flexible in what do to protect endangered species. Protecting a habitat will introduce more species to that habitat, creating an overpopulation and larger habitat that could endanger each other. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should be doing more community outreach. The State level should be getting more involved. There are ~2000 national species on the list right now.

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are marine mammals capable of spending their entire lives in water. Being carnivorous in nature, they feed on sea urchins, crabs, fishes, mussels and clams. They are referred to as keystone species due to their profound impact on marine ecology. The interaction between sea otters, sea urchins and kelp forests has been studied as a model of the impact of predator-prey interaction on community ecology. Sea otters are keystone predators, whose presence has a far-reaching influence on the marine food web by affecting the population of sea urchins in particular, and kelp forests & other marine organisms in general. There has been a steep decline in sea otter populations due to water pollution and exploitation for

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such an organism plays a role in its ecosystem that is analogous to the role of a keystone in an arch. While the keystone feels the least pressure of any of the stones in an arch, the arch still collapses without it. Similarly, an ecosystem may experience a dramatic shift if a keystone species is removed, even though that species was a small part of the ecosystem by measures of biomass or productivity. It has become a very popular concept in conservation biology.

Furthermore, many keystone species impact the environment. They are highly depended on by other species in their environment. If they were removed from the ecosystem, the environment would be affected dramatically. An example of a keystone specie is a bee. Many people may not realize it, but bees impact us in many ways. If we did not have bees our flowers, fruits, vegetables, and other crops would not be able to grow. Many keystone species have different types of symbiosis with other organisms. For example, mutualism is the type relationship bees have with plants and crops. Mutualism means that the bee is benefited by obtaining necessary nutrients from the plants and the plants are being benefited by being pollinated by the bee. There are many

Influence on ecosystems range from human causes like the bulldozing of a forest to natural causes like a fire or a flood.  In recent times, the introduction and spread of invasive species has transformed native communities rapidly and, in some cases, created irreversible damages.  In the Earth’s history, changes have often occurred in the ecosystems.  For example, glaciers and the retreat of glaciers cause wide-spread changes.  However, although change is a constant in ecosystems, animals and habitats often cannot adapt to the rapid alterations of non-natural stresses.  Harm to the environment from the introduction of invasive species occurs through changes in the habitat and declines in the native species.  Invasive species

Extinction is nothing new to animal and plant species around the earth. Over the course of time on the earth there have been five mass extinctions, with many predicting that a sixth has already begun due to human fault. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was designed to save both animal and plant life from these great feat. The ESA has seen only a 2% recovery rate since it enactment (Why is U.S. Recovery Rate (2%) for Endangered Species So Low?). Many critics and politicians have been calling for a reformation of the act for years. The ESA is in need of a change in the following areas funding distribution, time it takes to list a species on the endangered species list, and habitats on private land.

Bill Freedmen, author of “Endangered Species—Human Causes Of Extinction and Endangerment” notes, “scientists approximate that present extinction rates are 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the average natural extinction rate.” These distressing numbers should be acted upon to save the endangered species and avoid the catastrophic change to this planet if these species were to become extinct. In order to produce change, people need to recognize that habitat loss, climate change, and poaching are all factors in why our animal species are going extinct.