Name a keystone species example.

Name a keystone species example.

• A. African elephants shaping habitats
• B. Tiger
• C. Zebra
• D. Giraffe

Answer: (A)

Keystone species are those whose activities have a disproportionately large impact on the ecosystem relative to how common they are. African elephants exemplify this because their feeding and movement patterns actively remodel the landscape. By knocking down trees, creating open patches of grassland, and digging waterholes, they maintain a mosaic of habitats that supports a wide diversity of plants and animals. Their dung also helps disperse plant seeds, influencing which species can thrive. This kind of habitat engineering changes which species can live where and how abundantly, which is the essence of a keystone role. Tigers regulate prey populations through predation but don’t typically cause large-scale, lasting changes to the physical environment. Zebras and giraffes affect vegetation, yet their activities don’t produce the same broad, cascading habitat effects that elephants do. So, the example that best demonstrates a keystone species is elephants shaping habitats.

Keystone species are those whose activities have a disproportionately large impact on the ecosystem relative to how common they are. African elephants exemplify this because their feeding and movement patterns actively remodel the landscape. By knocking down trees, creating open patches of grassland, and digging waterholes, they maintain a mosaic of habitats that supports a wide diversity of plants and animals. Their dung also helps disperse plant seeds, influencing which species can thrive. This kind of habitat engineering changes which species can live where and how abundantly, which is the essence of a keystone role.

Tigers regulate prey populations through predation but don’t typically cause large-scale, lasting changes to the physical environment. Zebras and giraffes affect vegetation, yet their activities don’t produce the same broad, cascading habitat effects that elephants do.

So, the example that best demonstrates a keystone species is elephants shaping habitats.