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Biology

How Keystone Predation Maintains Species Diversity in Rocky Intertidal Zones

Quick fact

In the 1960s, ecologist Robert Paine removed ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus) from a rocky intertidal site in Washington State. Within a year, the number of species plummeted from 15 to just 5, as mussels took over the entire zone.

Why this is interesting

Imagine a rock ledge teeming with life—barnacles, limpets, seaweeds, anemones. But if you remove just one animal from that scene, the entire community can collapse into a single species. What is that animal, and why is it so powerful?