Keystone Predators
The humble sea star. A fan favorite amongst the tide pools here in the Pacific Northwest. However, until recently I didn't know what an important role they play in coastal ecosystems.
I was watching a show on 'Keystone Predators', a term I was unfamiliar with. A keystone predator is an animal/organism that has, "a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance." They more or less act as an agent of balance within the ecosystem. Without them other organisms (plants, animals, fish ect) are at risk.
A researcher in the late 60's found that when he removed all of the sea stars from tide pools along a section of the Olympic coast that muscles absolutely took over, obliterating the populations of sea urchins, anemones, and other shellfish. The sea stars provided a balance and a sort of predatory regulation which benefitted all of the other species, in this case a multitude of anemones, kelp, and if you look real close a crab that's hiding in there.
The program gave other examples as well, large mouth bass in river streams to regulate minnows from consuming all of the vegetation, wolves to regulate deer which also regulates low lying vegetation, and re-introduced wild dogs in Africa that helped to regulate antelope and zebra, preventing the lush plains of Africa from becoming a desert.
Some species like wolves or wild dogs are known as 'predators', others like the sea star fly a little under the radar. Either way, I found the whole idea really interesting. Who or what is our keystone predator, keeping us humans in check? Is there an overall balance between sentient beings (and perhaps beyond) that humans are just starting to understand? I think we should do our best to stay out of the way and check ourselves just in case.
Image with my Hasselblad 500cm.
Keystone Predators
The humble sea star. A fan favorite amongst the tide pools here in the Pacific Northwest. However, until recently I didn't know what an important role they play in coastal ecosystems.
I was watching a show on 'Keystone Predators', a term I was unfamiliar with. A keystone predator is an animal/organism that has, "a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance." They more or less act as an agent of balance within the ecosystem. Without them other organisms (plants, animals, fish ect) are at risk.
A researcher in the late 60's found that when he removed all of the sea stars from tide pools along a section of the Olympic coast that muscles absolutely took over, obliterating the populations of sea urchins, anemones, and other shellfish. The sea stars provided a balance and a sort of predatory regulation which benefitted all of the other species, in this case a multitude of anemones, kelp, and if you look real close a crab that's hiding in there.
The program gave other examples as well, large mouth bass in river streams to regulate minnows from consuming all of the vegetation, wolves to regulate deer which also regulates low lying vegetation, and re-introduced wild dogs in Africa that helped to regulate antelope and zebra, preventing the lush plains of Africa from becoming a desert.
Some species like wolves or wild dogs are known as 'predators', others like the sea star fly a little under the radar. Either way, I found the whole idea really interesting. Who or what is our keystone predator, keeping us humans in check? Is there an overall balance between sentient beings (and perhaps beyond) that humans are just starting to understand? I think we should do our best to stay out of the way and check ourselves just in case.
Image with my Hasselblad 500cm.