keystone species

English

Noun

keystone species (plural keystone species)

1. (ecology) A species that exerts a large, stabilizing influence throughout an ecological community, despite its relatively small numerical abundance.
   • 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 227:

     Megafauna are called ʻkeystone speciesʼ because when they become extinct the entire arch of the ecosystem can collapse.

Related terms

• flagship species