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And, this won’t support the survival of other small herbivore prey species, and also the predators. So, you can see that without the presence of elephants in those ecosystems, the region will soon convert into a forest or woodland. that feed on the grasses, while also largely impacting the growth of the prey species like hyenas, lions, tiger as well that feed on these small herbivore prey species. This ensures the sustainability of the various other small herbivore prey species like goats, zebra, dear, buffaloes, etc.
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Just, for example, the Asiatic and African Elephants being large herbivores help shape the ecosystem by destroying and feeding on the huge trees, plants, while making room for the grass species to grow. Thus, in the absence of a keystone species, many ecosystems would almost fail to exist. They, in fact, highly impact other types of plants and animals that make up that ecosystem by indicating their respective ecological niches. So, just keep reading.Įlephants’ ecological role cannot be compared to that of the other animals that are a part of the ecological community. We will understand this thing more precisely and theoretically. In other words, elephants help disproportionately, impactfully, and largely just in order to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community while ensuring their own and other species’ continued sustainability in the ecosystem.Īlthough the Elephant population is too less as compared to the other animals living in the ecosystem but then so they are known to largely impact and affect many other organisms living in that ecosystem. Yes, you can also say that elephants shape the ecosystem by playing a very critical role just in order to maintain the structure of the ecological community they are in. What type of keystone species is an elephant? What will happen to the ecosystem if elephants became extinct? How are elephants keystone species?Įlephants are keystone species because they do act as Ecosystem Engineers by modifying, creating, and maintaining habitats for other species (both plants and animals) in the ecosystem to survive.How are elephants important to the ecosystem?.Let’s Know: What actually are keystone species? Why are keystone species important to the ecosystem?.Let’s Quickly Learn: Why are elephants keystone species?.