If These 3 Keystone Species Were To Disappear Their Ecosystems Would Collapse

Ecosystems are extremely fragile and complex and the smallest changes can throw them off balance. Most plants and animals play an important role in their ecosystem but of course some species are more important than others. In today's video i will be focusing on animals that fit into two categories and these categories are keystone species and umbrella species.

Umbrella species are species selected for making conservation-related decisions, typically because protecting these species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat.

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance.

If some important keystone species and umbrella species were to disappear then there would undoubtedly be some extinctions and i will be going through few of these scenarios today.

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:12 Salmon
4:04 Sea Otters
6:15 American Alligator

Attributions

Salmon images:
Knepp, Timothy
Public domain
NYS DEC
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic
Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
Public domain

Salmon footage:
TheBradypusPygmaeus
Doug Jones - Nature Videos
CC BY-ND

Salmon fishing graphs:
Epipelagic
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Sea otter images:
"Mike" Michael L. Baird
Attribution 2.0 Generic
Robin Gwen Agarwal (ANudibranchMom on iNaturalist)
Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic
National Marine Sanctuaries
Attribution 2.0 Generic
Bureau of Land Management California
Public domain

Sea otter footage:
Ingrid Taylar Foto
CC BY-ND

American alligator images:
judygva
Attribution 2.0 Generic

I have edited and adapted some of these clips and images.

Thanks for watching i hope you enjoyed :)

Sources:

[TsukiCove]

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION-
I should've gone into more detail when talking about fish farming as it is by no means perfect.
There are many problems with salmon farming such as:
Transfer of Disease

Pollution (fish excrement and uneaten feed)
Sea Lice
Contamination
If done sustainably salmon farming is much better than catching wild salmon but unfortunately not all salmon farming is sustainable.
I hope this clears up anything i didn't mention.

[bonesawmcgraw]

The American alligator is quite a unique species. It is the only species of crocodilian that can survive cold temperatures. It’s crazy to think they were once close to extinction.

[LashLeRoux.]

Beavers are also an important keystone species but I believe you’ve covered them in other videos.

[POKECAii]

Love your videos keep up the good work

[mtkoslowski]

I always enjoy your video presentations and look out for them.

Thank you.

[evanwindom]

Farm-raised salmon aren't natural as they're fed diets specifically designed to tweak omega-3 levels. They can also contain PCBs and antibiotics. I've always wondered how people can insist on "free range" chickens, but are okay with salmon raised in cramped conditions. A better approach is to rear salmon in hatcheries and release them to live out their normal lifecycles. In other words, put back what we take out.

[Hunterga]

Had to subscribe because your videos are very educational and interesting god I love animals!

[rudradebsarkar]

Beaver will be one of the best example of keystone species

[andresdeleon]

This is why I love keystone species of animals

[Kippetje]

Tsuki whats youre favorite animal? Mine is a chicken

[michaelfriedman]

Wolves I think should have made the list. they helped introduce the very idea of keystone species. example: the elk of Yellowstone national park. if it wasn't for the wolves, the elk and other herbivores would destroy the parks ecosystem.

[albino-fish]

Can you please do a video on feral invasive animals, like bees, horses, goldfish, cats, &. Dogs

[jamesvonwald]

Bees and butterflies and other pollinators.

[Redneckkratos]

7:52 you forgot the most important keystone species. If the Arnie were to disappear, the entire Tsuki YouTube channel community would collapse……

[rubric-eoyj]

do a video on most endangered freshwater turtle species

[adrianmorrison]

Could you please do a video about misunderstood animals with the most endangered species?

[Gethinsite]

I didn't know there were 7 species of salmon so thanks. Could u do a video about all the subspecies of wolf please :)

[isaacvokes]

One species that is really good is probably beavers because they make dams (not concrete only sticks) that then could make wet lands that help frogs, fish, insects and newts and it could help plants grow in dry conditions that not much animals can live in.

[possmasonify]

Great video, but you are wrong to suggest that farming salmon does not affect the ecosystem. The uneaten pellets etc cause a huge amount of damage on the seafloor under the cages. The salmon in the cages are also treated for sealice which drop off the caged fish and infest the native wild salmon/ seatrout when they are young and they often die. The farms have ruined wild Scottish and Irish runs of wild salmon. I'm sure there may be other reasons for this as well, but the salmon farms definitely play a big part.
Ps keep up the good work, i love your videos.

[stadtbekanntertunichtgut]

I have a eco system in my pants! The more you know. 🌈