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Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
"Keystone species are those that have a disproportionately large effect on the communities in which they occur. They help maintain biodiversity and there are no other species in the ecosystem that can serve their same function. Without them, their ecosystem would dramatically change, suffer, or even cease to exist.
Keystone species are believed to be found in all the world’s major ecosystems. Identifying these species can be challenging because doing so requires a complex knowledge of the interaction of all species within an ecosystem. However, it is essential to understanding how the loss of species will affect an ecosystem’s condition." - BestBees: Indicator Species and Keystone Species
Uses for Keystone Species
Uses for Keystone Species
Keystone Plants
Keystone Plants
Biodiversity
Biodiversity
"Keystone species are native plants that support the greatest number and variety of the most important insects in the local food web. They are essential to birds for reproduction. These insects are especially numerous, large, nutritious and edible. Planting keystone species at your home is one of the most important things you can do to support wildlife, particularly if you replace lawn, which supports almost no wildlife at all. " - NorwichConservation: Keystone Plants
Water Quality Management
Water Quality Management
Plants can help stabilize shorelines and reduce dangerous pollution runoff into bodies of water, as well as groundwater. Shade from trees can help reduce the temperatures of waterways and lakes or ponds. This can prevent species such as fish from overheating, as well as reduce aglae growth, preventing or reducing dangerous blooms.
Examples of Species
Examples of Species
There are different ways that species can be integral to the functions of their ecosystem, so keystone species can fall into several broad categories, or even combinations of different categories.
Predator
Predator
"By keeping the populations and range of their prey in check, keystone predators impact other predators as well as the whole rest of the food chain. Without keystone predators, the populations of the species they hunt would skyrocket, pushing out other organisms and reducing biodiversity." - BestBees: Indicator Species and Keystone Species
Wolves
Wolves
Otters
Otters
"Sea otters significantly shape their communities by preying on sea urchins. Without the otters, sea urchins will grow in number and eat up the kelp forests that many other species depend on for habitat or food. Sea urchins can eat kelp at a rate of up to 30 feet per month, leaving barren sea floor in their wake. Luckily, sea otters are champion eaters, consuming up to 25% of their body weight daily – and sea urchins are their favorite food." - BestBees: Indicator Species and Keystone Species
Prey
Prey
"Species that serve as a critical food source for a multitude of other species are known as keystone prey. Additionally, not only do these species feed many others, but they are able to maintain healthy populations, despite being preyed upon by multiple predators." - BestBees: Indicator Species and Keystone Species
Ecosystem Engineer
Ecosystem Engineer
"Ecosystem engineer species create, modify, or maintain the environment around them. They influence the prevalence and activities of other organisms and help maintain the overall biodiversity of their habitat." - BestBees: Indicator Species and Keystone Species
Beaver
Beaver
Coral
Coral
Wild Horses & Ponies
Wild Horses & Ponies
"As ecosystem engineers, horses create beneficial changes through their physical actions. In the winter horses break ice with their hooves, allowing other species access to water, and in the summer dig to create small water catchments, creating intermittent riparian habitat for desert species." - Rewilding Institute: Rewilding with Horses
Host Plants
Host Plants
Birch
Birch
Birch support many species including many types of moth caterpillars. Birch can tolerate polluted soils, including heavy metals such as lead, and they are heavy nutrient cyclers, with their deep roots powering the creation of deep leaf litter, which is vital for healthy forest floors.
Milkweed
Milkweed
Endangered Monarch Butterflies rely on the toxins in milkweed to protect their caterpillars before their annual migration.
Oaks
Oaks
Mutualists
Mutualists
"Keystone mutualists are two or more species that engage in reciprocally vital interactions; the disruption of one species impacts the other and, ultimately, the ecosystem as a whole." - BestBees: Indicator Species and Keystone Species
Pollinators
Pollinators
Plants
Plants
North America
North America
USA
USA
Massachusetts
Vermont
Keystone— Native Plant—Species Restoring Living Shorelands (PDF)
NorwichConservation: Keystone Plants "This list includes the keystone species identified by Dr. Douglas Tallamy’s research that are native to the Upper Valley and most suitable for home owners to grow whether you live in New Hampshire or Vermont. Different plants have specific growing requirements You can get information about growing requirements at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center."
Organizations
Organizations
Organism-Specific Groups
Organism-Specific Groups
Aquatic
Aquatic
Mammals
Mammals
Maps
Maps
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