Citation
Challenges in the quest for keystones
TL;DR
Established criteria for distinguishing keystone from dominant species
This comprehensive review by leading ecologists (including Paine himself) established rigorous criteria for identifying keystone species and distinguished them from dominant species. The paper provided the conceptual foundation for the Keystone Index formula and systematic approaches to keystone identification.
The challenges identified - detecting keystones before removal, measuring disproportionate impact, distinguishing keystones from simply abundant species - translate directly to organizational contexts where identifying critical dependencies before they fail is equally challenging.
Key Findings from Power et al. (1996)
- Established criteria for distinguishing keystone from dominant species
- Keystone status depends on disproportionate impact relative to abundance
- Detection of keystones ideally occurs before removal experiments
- Keystones operate through multiple mechanisms (predation, engineering, mutualism)