Why Do Keystone Species Collapse

Because of this, the ungulate populations began to increase dramatically. This caused a decrease in vegetation due to the larger herbivores consuming a large amount of it. According to Reagan Downey, an educator at the Wolf Conservation Center, the effects were devastating, stating, “You cannot eat in one area and stay there the entire day, because there’s always the chance that something’s going to try and eat you. However, without wolves in Yellowstone, elk could just stay there and so they would eat until all of the vegetation was gone. In addition, when nothing was left, they would move to a new area. Therefore, the landscape became very flat and very barren because nothing was there. Because the elk ate the vegetation, many animals were losing out on being able to eat as well because the elk were growing in number. So it caused other animals to move out and die,” The effects of no wolves in the area was, in the long run, extremely unhealthy for the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park. In January of 1995, United States and Canadian officials captured fourteen wolves and released them back into Yellowstone. An additional seventeen wolves were captured and released into Yellowstone in January of 1996, effectively bringing the ecosystem back into balance. After this happened, the ungulate population naturally declined back to healthy numbers, the vegetation increased, and the animals who were low on the food chain finally had a stable place to

“Restoring an ecologically complete ecosystem in Yellowstone requires the return of willows--and with them, beavers. There's a clear threshold for ecosystem recovery. Willow stands must be more than 6 feet tall, the scientists found. That height is important, says Marshall. Then willows are beyond the reach of browsing elk, and can serve as seed sources for new young willows. Once willows have returned, beavers will gnaw down a certain number of them to build dams. The dams will further slow stream flow, allowing yet more willows to grow. The results offer new insights on the role of wolf-driven trophic cascades in the Yellowstone ecosystem, says Hobbs. Trophic cascades like that in Yellowstone occur when predators--or the lack thereof--in an ecosystem change the abundance or alter traits of their prey, in turn affecting the next lower trophic level.” ("National Science Foundation", 2013)

Many species vital to ensuring that today’s environment will thrive are becoming extinct. If a species is slowly dwindling, and in imminent danger of becoming nonexistent, this species is considered to be endangered. “One in four mammals, one in eight birds, one third of all amphibians and 70% of the world’s assessed plants on the… IUCN Red List are in jeopardy” (IUCN, 2016). According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, upwards of 16,000 species are threatened with extinction, including both plants and animals (IUCN, 2016). Before becoming endangered, a species will show warning signs, either by starting to lose biological diversity or by losing the habitats for that species to flourish in, or in the worst case, both. The word endangered can sometimes be confused with threatened, extirpated, or extinct. Extirpated refers to the state of a species where its population has died out in a certain area or range, but other populations of said species still exist elsewhere (Olden, Julian D., 2008). When a species is considered threatened, or vulnerable, this refers to the state of the species being susceptible to endangerment and extinction (“Extinction crisis escalates”). So if a species is threatened, the first signs of endangerment come along, which are similar signs to that of a species in danger of becoming threatened, including lack of genetic diversity, or overhunting may be evident. (“Extinction crisis escalates”). When a species is labelled

Ed Yong makes very valid points on how the wolves of Yellowstone have impacted the overly populated elk herds. He has this to say about the herds; “Today the population stands at just over 6,000 down from 19,000 in the elk’s wolf-free heyday,” (ll57). This might seem like a terrible drop in the elk’s numbers, but it is actually a good thing. Yong tells us, “The large deer had run amok in the wolf-free decades, causing serious damage to the park’s trees,” (ll5-6). So in reality, while there are far less elk now, the trees can start to build back up again.

A keystone species has a high impact on a community by keeping an ecosystem together. Most often Beavers, Bears, and Bees are just a couple of keystone species.

If wolves are reintroduced in the park, then they will prey on expanding elk and deer populations

When herbivorous species such as white-tailed deer and elks are the main predators in a habitat, they create an imbalance in the habitat, and force other species in the habitat to go extinct. Natural predation also has a stronger impact in stabilizing or reducing the population of white-tailed deer than human hunting alone. One of the main reasons for the overpopulation of the deer was the extinction of their predators. Every animal in the food web is highly important in keeping the balance in the ecosystem. Yellowstone National Park was a great example of how every species support the

If a predator organism was removed from an ecosystem, it would allow the prey population to increase which could lead to not having enough food for these organisms to eat. For example, if wolves were eliminated from the taiga biome than there would be a dramatic increase in the population of moose. This would result in the moose not having enough jack pine and could lead to starvation. The wolves would then have to eat more rabbits, elk, and voles which would decrease their population and starve the organisms that rely on these animals.

The absence of wolves has allowed for smaller predators to increase in population and range, such as coyotes and raccoons. These species in turn cause greater exploitation of their specific food sources. Coyotes have now assumed the position of top predator in California, making populations of foxes dwindle as they compete for the similar food sources.

WHAT: The reintroduction of wolves in 1995 has significantly decreased the coyote and fox populations, although those who remain often scavenge from wolf kills. Yellowstone's coyotes are among the largest coyotes in the United States; adults average about 14 kg and some can weigh up to 20 kg. These intelligent canines primarily eat voles, mice, rabbits, other small animals. They will commonly feed on carrion and only when in packs, hunt young elk calves in the spring. In the Lamar Valley, it is estimated that these expert hunters kill 23.6 percent of all pocket gophers, 35.2 percent of ground squirrels and 76.2 percent of all voles. Their litter is usually between 4–8 pups born in April and emerging from their dens in May. Coyotes

In this essay, I will go into detail about two examples of keystone species. First, I will talk about prairie dogs and then I will talk about jaguars. Both species contribute and add to the life in their environments both directly and indirectly. Next, I will discuss the consequences if the prairie dogs and the jaguars left their habitats. Lastly, I will talk about similarities and differences between the two species.

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

A keystone species is any species that plays a very important contributing factor to its ecosystem and its ecosystem’s biological constituents. Because these species are relatively integral to the wellness of any given ecosystem, it’s important not to interfere with or hinder their elemental function as it may pose a serious detrimental effect to an ecosystem’s biological equilibrium. Starfish, for instance, are among the most highly regarded species because they are instinctively responsible for preserving kelp forests (Lopatto, 2014). Relative to the size of its population, starfish preserve these kelp forests in superfluous numbers (Holsinger, 2005). Although kelp forests seem quite a bit meaningless or inconsequential, they most certainly

The sea star is known as a keystone species. A keystone species is a species in which its role is pivotal in the ecosystem and many organisms depend on its contribution for survival. In comparison to any other organism within the ecosystem, a keystone species'