Amber A - Keystone Species

According to Wikipedia, "A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species affect many other organisms in an ecosystem and help to determine the types and numbers of various other species in a community." In relevance to this definition, I believe that humans are a keystone species. If humans were to go extinct, it would affect other organisms in the ecosystem. Humans are the top predator on the food chain, This means that the animals that humans would eat would become more abundant. There are already vast numbers of animals that humans raise for food, but it humans became extinct, these animals would not be eaten and they would continue to multiply. Humans also regulate some ecosystems by cutting down forests, destroying natural wetlands, and tapering with water resources for various reasons. If humans were to go extinct, they would no longer be able to maintain the re-growth of forests and certain habitats. These habitats would grow back to as they were before humans interfered with them and the animals that live in these habitats would also grow in population. Humans are a keystone species because they affect the ecosystem in many ways. If humans were to go extinct, these ecosystems would change and the population of animals in these ecosystems would grow.