“When Keystone Extinction is More Ethical Than Conservation” Although the Endangered Species Act (ESA) at first glance seems to offer only benefits, it has been a topic of heated controversy since it was passed in 1973. The Act was created in response to the increasing awareness of animal endangerment and extinction, particularly those of the iconic American bison and passenger pigeon. When President Nixon signed the law he declared, “Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.”
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), endangerment is the second most serious status and indicates a “very high risk of extinction in the wild.” …show more content…
A species of beetle in a distant forest may disappear, but not cause the collapse of an ecosystem. For this reason, it is not feasible or desirable to attempt protecting such species even if they are on the brink of extinction. Some species, however, play far greater roles in their ecosystems, and losing them could cause a butterfly effect of devastating effects. As Robert T. Paine, the pioneering biologist in researching these important species, discovered: “not all species in an ecosystem are created equal” (MacDonald). Paine’s research brought an entirely new idea to …show more content…
Robert Paine coined the term in reference to the center stone in an arch that locks the structure together. Without the keystone, the arch would collapse. This analogy perfectly describes the function of the species Paine dedicated his life to studying. In an experiment using starfish and barnacles, Paine realized that when he removed the starfish from an area, the barnacle population grew exponentially to push other species into extinction in that area. In the absence of the starfish, the ecosystem overturned and crumbled. While Paine’s original definition of a keystone was the predator of another species that keeps the latter’s population at a manageable level, the modern definition has changed slightly. Today, “keystone” refers to any species “whose impact on its community or ecosystem is large, and disproportionately large relative to its abundance” (Power, et al., 609). Although keystones are no longer classified as only predators, the original example of keystone species importance is a pattern followed in every