Keystone Species as Apex Predators

An ecosystem comprises animals, plants, and many other factors, and the complex intermediary species constitute a unique environment. Every ecosystem has an extreme species population that, at a glance, should not belong to one ecosystem, but they do, and that is possible due to the presence of keystone species. They are an important link for the survival of other species in the surroundings. 

• They can be an apex predator or simple plants, but without their interference, an ecosystem would not thrive. They help glue the ecosystem together, or else the system would not be able to adapt to the changing environment. 
• Eventually, the ecosystem would collapse in their absence. Apex predators disguising as a keystone species, help regulate the population of other predator and prey species, hence affecting the quantity and distribution of animals and plants down the food web in an ecosystem. 
• Tiger sharks can be seen as keystone species in the Australian marine ecosystem. Their presence near the seagrass bed declines the sea turtles from overgrazing grass beds, making them graze across a much wider region. Tiger sharks are also observed to feed upon sick fish, helping other marine animals to flourish.