Often the surviving local species will be unable to avert these changes, because they cannot play complementary and compensatory roles. See more. Meaning of keystone. 2. Definition of keystone in the AudioEnglish.org Dictionary. Diseases of Keystone Species and Conservation. Paine (1966) considered keystone species normally to be predators, such as starfish in the marine intertidal zone or otters in kelp beds, that exert direct control over prey abundance and species composition and thereby indirect control of primary producers. Keystone Species Definition. 2. the central building block at the top of an arch or vault Familiarity information: KEYSTONE used as … 2 : something on which other things depend for support. How to use science in a sentence. Keystone species, in ecology, a species that has a disproportionately large effect on the communities in which it occurs. Because a keystone species plays a critical role in maintaining an ecosystem, a disease process that affects it will have a significant impact on the entire community.

1 : the wedge-shaped piece at the top of an arch that locks the other pieces in place. This idea has since been extended to encompass any consumer that exerts an overriding influence on the structure of a food web. Sonia M. Hernandez, Michael J. Yabsley, in Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, 2012. stone (kē′stōn′) n. 1. A keystone species is often a dominant predator whose removal allows a prey population to explode and … Such species help to maintain local biodiversity within a community either by controlling populations of other species that would otherwise dominate the community or by providing critical resources for a wide range of species. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch or vault to bear weight. Keystone definition, the wedge-shaped piece at the summit of an arch, regarded as holding the other pieces in place. Architecture A wedge-shaped stone at the top of an arch, often larger or more ornamented than the other voussoirs. Instead of just observing the habitat of the Pisaster ochraceus sea star, Paine experimented by actually changing the habitat. Also called headstone . The keystone of the budget in Mr. Gladstone's conception was the position to be assigned in it to the income-tax. For example, a shoe store owner might price a certain category of athletic shoes at the keystone rate. Keystone species are those which have an extremely high impact on a particular ecosystem relative to its population.