role of keystone

What is the role of keystone species in maintaining ecological balance?

Role of Keystone Species in an Ecosystem
A keystone species helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.

A keystone species helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.

Keystone species contribute to the stability and resilience of an ecosystem. Their presence helps maintain the balance of species and ecological processes, reducing the likelihood of extreme fluctuations or ecosystem collapse.

Keystone species play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance of an ecosystem. A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. For example, the sea otter is considered a keystone species in kelp forests because it helps to control the population of sea urchins, which would otherwise eat the kelp. If the sea otter population were to decline, the kelp forests would be destroyed, which would have a major impact on the ecosystem as a whole. Similarly, the removal of a keystone species can cause an entire ecosystem to collapse.

By feeding on the dominant species in a community, keystone predators serve to sustain species variety by ensuring that the dominant predators do not completely wipe out the various species. Therefore, the correct answer is (b) prey on the community's dominant species.