Keystone species

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-015150",
  "term": "Keystone species",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A species whose survival affects other organisms in an ecosystem. If a keystone species were removed from an ecosystem, the ecosystem would drastically change.\n\n2. A species which, if removed from an ecosystem, causes a dramatic change in the system, and which has been proposed as an indicator of the functional capacity of the system.\n\n3. Species that exerts a major influence on the composition and dynamics of the community in which it lives.\n\n4. Species whose abundance dramatically alters the structure and dynamics of ecological systems (Brown and Heske 1990:1705).\n\n5. Species whose survival affects other organisms in an ecosystem. If a keystone species were removed from an ecosystem, the ecosystem would drastically change.",
  "subject": "Ecosystems",
  "references": [
    "Chesapeake Bay Glossary",
    "USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Glossary",
    "NOAA Paleoclimatology Climate Glossary",
    "USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Glossary of Avian Terms For Use in Avian Conservation Biology"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/keystone-species/"
}