Wildlife
The first week of October was dedicated to celebrating our Bobcat friends on Kiawah Island, predators who are known as a keystone species, and are vital for our ecosystem.
But what is a keystone species, and how do they help protect Kiawah's fauna?
Kiawah’s barrier island ecosystem contains several components to make sure our wildlife can flourish. Ecosystems are areas where communities of plants and animals are connected through various nutrient and energy cycles. Many of these cycles require complex systems, with some even including multiple animals, plants, or microbial species in the process. The animals that most keep these delicate systems balanced are known as keystone species.
Simply put, if one of these vital species were to go extinct or disappear, it would greatly harm or alter the other animal and plant populations on Kiawah. Similarly, if their population would expand rapidly, the rest of Kiawah could drastically change. Believe it or not, many keystone species tend to be higher on the food-chain, making many of our predatory populations valuable for the island’s security. Known as trophic cascade, animals like bobcats are prime examples of this phenomenon; when Kiawah's bobcat population declined, the consequences traveled down the food chain to where even basic plant and insect life was affected. Luckily, the bobcat population eventually recovered, and other fauna can now stabilize as a result.
If you want to learn more about other keystone species and the delicate balances of our ecosystem, call 843.768.6001 or visit: https://bit.ly/3kwGqJA.
