4.C.

4 Ecosystem Stability

The diversity of species within an

ecosystem may influence the stability
of the ecosystem.
 Natural and artificial ecosystems with
fewer component parts and with little
diversity among the parts are often less
resilient to changes in the environment.
Keystone species, producers, and essential
abiotic and biotic factors, contribute to
maintaining the diversity of an ecosystem.
 The effects of keystone species on the
ecosystem are disproportionate relative to
their abundance in the ecosystem. When
they are removed from the ecosystem, the
ecosystem often collapses.

Pollination
Removes
Regulates
genetic
populations
weakness

Recycles
Enhances Keystone
nutrients
habitats Species and wastes
 The term keystone species was first coined by
Robert Paine in 1966, who studied the effects of
the artificial removal of the starfish Pisaster
ochraceus from an intertidal ecosystem.
Paine found that removal of the predator
species Pisaster reduced the number of
other species occupying the ecosystem
from 15 to 8 within a single year.
Gray Wolves: A Case Study of Keystone Species
Removal and Restoration
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) once roamed the
western portions of North America from
Alaska to Mexico.
During the latter 19th century, the wolf’s
prey, mostly bison, elk, deer, and moose,
were severely overhunted. The wolves
adapted to preying upon livestock,
angering farmers and ranchers.
The federal government began eradicating the
wolf population. Bounty programs offered as
much as $50 per wolf. By the 1930s wolves had
been hunted, poisoned, and trapped to
extinction everywhere in the lower 48 states.
With the wolf gone, elk populations rapidly
exploded, resulting in overgrazing and
significant declines in many plant species
such as aspen and willow. This in turn
reduced the beaver and songbird
populations.
The disappearance of the affected plant species led to
the loss of habitat for many other species and
resulted in other ecological disturbances such as the
weakening of stream bank stability, the warming of
water temperatures caused by loss of shading foliage,
and disturbing nutrient cycling throughout whole
ecosystems.
 In 1995, the federal government began
reintroducing gray wolves back into Yellowstone
National Park. Their numbers have swelled,
alarming ranchers and farmers in Montana and
Wyoming.
 Today, the Gray Wolf’s future is once more
uncertain. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has
taken them off the endangered species list,
allowing some states to establish a wolf hunting
season once again.
 Learning Objectives:
LO 4.27 The student is able to make scientific
claims and predictions about how species
diversity within an ecosystem influences
ecosystem stability. [See SP 6.4]
 Credits
• http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/li
brary/keystone-species-15786127