A keystone in an arch's crown secures the other stones in place. Keystone species play the same role in many ecological communities by maintaining the structure and integrity of the community.

In a subsequent paper, he designated the Pisaster starfish a “keystone species,” referring to an architectural keystone: the wedge-shaped stone atop an arch that, once inserted, prevents the ...

The Florida panther species has been listed as endangered since 1973, but new proposed legislation puts it in jeopardy.

exerting a strong influence over the occurrence and distribution of other species. In contrast, keystone species have effects on communities that far exceed their abundance. That is to say ...

In 2007, biologists named these potent molecules after a popular concept in ecology. “Keystone species,” such as starfish in Pacific Northwest tidepools, aren’t abundant, but they have outsize effects ...

When sea otters were reintroduced along the coastlines of islands in Southern California and British Columbia, researchers saw kelp forests return to areas that were destroyed by sea urchins.

New modeling method helped researchers understand why kelp forests returned more slowly in Southern California than in British Columbia. When sea otters were reintroduced along the coastlines of ...