Matt Avery - Humans as a Keystone Species

According to Paine, a keystone species is one whose impacts on its ecosystem are greater than would be expected from its relative abundance. Based on this definition, I would have to agree with the narrator in that humans are a keystone species, perhaps even the greatest keystone species of all time. In this sense, “greatest” would by no means indicate that humans have had a positive impact on the environment. More so, I would use the term “greatest” to mean that humans have had the largest effect on the environment. During our existence, humans have had a tremendous impact on the natural environment – we have driven several species to extinction, destroyed much of the tropical rainforests, and have done serious damage to our atmosphere and environmental climate. We have been one of the greatest keystone species of all time. Recently, however, it seems like humans are attempting to become less of a keystone species – That is, we are trying to reduce our impact on the environment, and correct several of the “environmental wrongs” we have committed. It will be interesting to see how we can lessen our identity as one of the greatest harmful keystone species in the history of the Earth over the next century.