Keystone species mussel population explodes uncontrollably, driving out most other species. These creatures need not be apex predators. Sea stars are prey for sharks, rays, and sea anemones. Sea otters are prey for orca. The jaguar, whose numbers in Central and South America have been classified as near threatened, acts as a keystone predator by its widely varied diet, helping to balance the mammalian jungle ecosystem with its consumption of 87 different species of prey. The lion is another keystone species. Keystone mutualists are organisms that participate in mutually beneficial interaction and the loss of which would have a profound impact upon
Apex predator Apex predator An apex predator, also known as an alpha predator or top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, with no natural predators. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic levels. Food chains are often far shorter on land, usually limited to being secondary consumers – for example, wolves prey mostly upon large herbivores (primary consumers), which eat plants (primary producers). The apex predator concept is applied in wildlife management, conservation and ecotourism. Apex predators have a long evolutionary history, dating at least to the