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KEYSTONE SPECIES:
In this food web the spotted spiny lobster is identified as the keystone species.
If the spotted spiny lobster were to drastically increase in number than the amount of speckled crab and rock boring urchin would dramatically decrease due to the increase in their predators. As a result of speckled crab and rock boring urchin decreasing, the amount of boring algae, turf algae, elkhorn coral, and lettuce coral would increase due to a decrease in their predators. Blacktip shark would also be affected by the decrease of speckled crab because that is one source where the blacktip shark gets its food. The predators of the spotted spiny lobster - caribbean reef octopus, blacktip shark, bluehead wrasse - would also increase in number due to the fact that they have more prey to feed on.
On the other side of the table, if the spotted spiny lobster were to be removed, then the amount of speckled crab and rock boring urchin would dramaticaly increase due to the decrease in their predators. As a result of speckled crab and rock boring urchin increasing, the amount of boring algae, turf algae, elkhorn coral, and lettuce coral would decrease due to an increase in their predators. This would affect longspine starsnail because these starsnails would now have less coral to eat and the starsnail population would decrease. Bluehead wrasse would be affected most drastically because they would have none of their one source of food, spotted spiny lobster, and a decreasing amount of their other source of food, longspine starsnail. Blacktip shark would increase because speckled crab is increasing so the sharks now have more prey. The predators of the spotted spiny lobster would dip in number due to the fact that they have less prey to feed on.
KEYSTONE SPECIES:
In this food web the spotted spiny lobster is identified as the keystone species.
If the spotted spiny lobster were to drastically increase in number than the amount of speckled crab and rock boring urchin would dramatically decrease due to the increase in their predators. As a result of speckled crab and rock boring urchin decreasing, the amount of boring algae, turf algae, elkhorn coral, and lettuce coral would increase due to a decrease in their predators. Blacktip shark would also be affected by the decrease of speckled crab because that is one source where the blacktip shark gets its food. The predators of the spotted spiny lobster - caribbean reef octopus, blacktip shark, bluehead wrasse - would also increase in number due to the fact that they have more prey to feed on.
On the other side of the table, if the spotted spiny lobster were to be removed, then the amount of speckled crab and rock boring urchin would dramaticaly increase due to the decrease in their predators. As a result of speckled crab and rock boring urchin increasing, the amount of boring algae, turf algae, elkhorn coral, and lettuce coral would decrease due to an increase in their predators. This would affect longspine starsnail because these starsnails would now have less coral to eat and the starsnail population would decrease. Bluehead wrasse would be affected most drastically because they would have none of their one source of food, spotted spiny lobster, and a decreasing amount of their other source of food, longspine starsnail. Blacktip shark would increase because speckled crab is increasing so the sharks now have more prey. The predators of the spotted spiny lobster would dip in number due to the fact that they have less prey to feed on.