Keystone

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Keystone: \ ˈkē-ˌstōn

1: the wedge-shaped piece at the crown of an arch that locks the other pieces in place

2: something on which associated things depend for support; determination, a keystone of the puritan ethic – L. S. Lewis

3: keystone species: a species of plant or animal that produces a major impact (as by predation) on its ecosystem and is considered essential to maintaining optimum ecosystem function or structure

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As a biologist, the third definition above is the one I am most familiar with, but they are all somewhat similar. Someone or something that represents a foundational brick without which/whom the structure would collapse. It’s just context that differs.

When I think of a keystone species, I have a tendency to think of the sea otter. The sea otter maintains the entire kelp forest by managing urchin populations. If left unchecked, urchins will decimate a kelp forest, munching through their holdfasts, resulting in the kelp losing their footing and floating away. That results in the loss of nursery rearing grounds for a difficult to assess number of fish and invertebrate species. It’s the same thing as clearcutting a forest and displacing all of the animals that lived in the shelter of the trees and underbrush.

So how does this image have anything to do with a keystone species?

Well, from a simplistic perspective, I see the goalie as the keystone player on a hockey team. You can put the best players in the world together as a team, but if you don’t have a competent goalie, the team will never have a hope of winning if a puck gets past the defence.

Talk about shouldering the proverbial weight-of-the-world.

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