Ecosystem engineer
Trees are an example of this; as they grow, their trunks and branches create habitats for other living things, which may include squirrels, birds or insects.
A prime example is the mud shrimp Filhollianassa filholi, an ecosystem engineer with a small population density, but were affects the temporal and spatial growth of macrofauna with its burrow structures.
[1] Beavers have also been shown to maintain habitats in such a way as to protect the rare Saint Francis' satyr butterfly and increase plant diversity.
[10] There is controversy around the usage of the term "ecosystem engineer" to classify a species, as it can be perceived as a "buzzword" to the ecological science community.
[7] Ecosystem engineers do have their general types, allogenic and autogenic, but further research has suggested that all organisms can fall under specific cases.
Kudzu, a leguminous plant introduced to the southeast U.S., changes the distribution and number of animal and bird species in the areas it invades.
[7] Air-conditioning is one prime example of the way humans mimic autogenic effects[7] Due to the complexity of many communities and ecosystems, restoration projects are often difficult.
Research has suggested primates as ecosystem engineers as a result of their feeding strategies – frugivory and folivory – making them act as seed dispersers.
[16] Prairie dogs are another terrestrial form of allogenic ecosystem engineers due to the fact that the species has the ability to perform substantial modifications by burrowing and turning soil.
They are able to influence soils and vegetation of the landscape while providing underground corridors for arthropods, avians, other small mammals, and reptiles.
[17] Arthropods can also be ecosystem engineers, such as spiders, ants, and many types of larvae that create shelters out of leaves, as well as gall-inducing insects that change the shapes of plants.
In marine environments, filter feeders and plankton are ecosystem engineers because they alter turbidity and light penetration, controlling the depth at which photosynthesis can occur.
[25] This in turn limits the primary productivity of benthic and pelagic habitats[26] and influences consumption patterns between trophic groups.
[27] Another example of ecosystem engineers in marine environments would be scleractinian corals as they create the framework for the habitat most coral-reef organisms depend on.
[29] As this relationship is mutually beneficial, a positive feedback cycle is formed between the two organisms, making them both responsible for creating and maintaining coral reef ecosystems.
