EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Large mammalian predators are keystone species for large ecosystems. They consume a wide variety of species and thereby help in maintaining a balance in the ecosystem.

Detailed explanation-2: -What Effect Do Keystones Have on an Ecosystem? Keystone species maintain the local biodiversity of an ecosystem, influencing the abundance and type of other species in a habitat. They are nearly always a critical component of the local food web.

Detailed explanation-3: -A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. By keeping populations of mussels and barnacles in check, this sea star helps ensure healthy populations of seaweeds and the communities that feed on them-sea urchins, sea snails, limpets, and bivalves.

Detailed explanation-4: -Species that have a high impact on certain ecosystem and their population.

Detailed explanation-5: -The difference between a keystone species and an endemic species is that a keystone species is a species that is essential to the health of the ecosystem and plays a large role relative to its abundance. An endemic species however, is simply a species that only lives in that ecosystem.