Study an ecosystem of your choice, such as a meadow, a patch of forest, a garden
ID: 637506 • Letter: S
Question
Study an ecosystem of your choice, such as a meadow, a patch of forest, a garden, or an area of wetland. (If you cannot do this physically, do so virtually by reading about an ecosystem online or in a library.) Determine and list five major plant species and five major animal species in your ecosystem. Write hypotheses about
(a) which of these species, if any, are indicator species and
(b) which of them, if any, are keystone species.
Explain how you arrived at your hypotheses. Then design an experiment to test each of your hypotheses, assuming you would have unlimited means to carry them out.
Explanation / Answer
Indicator species are those species which are highly sensitive to the environmental changes. Keystone species are those species, without which any ecosystem would have collapsed as they play a vital role in an ecosystem.
Mountain ecosystem-
Five major animal species: Deer, mountain goat, sheep, mountain lion, grizzly bear.
Five major plant species: Fir, pine, spruce, cottonwood, sandalwood
a) Grizzly bear is an indicator species of mountain ecosystem. If grizzly bear can survive in the ecosystem, it indicates that the requirements for survival of other organisms are met.
b) Mountain lion is a keystone species. The population of rabbit, deer and even scavengers like vultures are controlled by the mountain lion. Without the keystone species, other plants and animals would enter the habitat and the native species itself might be lost.