G7- Gopher Tortoises_Grade level_02

“Oh look!” you shout, just as your dad applies pressure to the brake pedal. After a quick deceleration and a check of the mirrors for traffic, you and your father make your move. “It’s a big one,” your dad yells out as he exits the car. He heads quickly in the direction of the large gopher tortoise making its way across the road. You step out of the passenger side of the car and keep a keen eye out for oncoming cars.

When the coast is clear, you watch as your dad runs out onto the road to pick up and carry the turtle across the road. As the tortoise continues his journey into the grass and away from the busy road, your dad looks back at you and smiles. Your dad climbs back into the car and returns the car to the road. He chuckles and says, “I guess there are worse habits to have than saving turtles.” “It’s very important that we do this,” you add.

Your dad has been saving gopher tortoises for as long as you can recall. He has known, since his university days, how important they are to the ecosystem.

In Science class, you are learning about animals and their ecosystems. You have learned that certain species play critical roles in the ecosystem. A gopher tortoise is one example of such a creature. They play a vital role in their environment. In fact, a gopher tortoise is what is known as a keystone species.

A gopher tortoise’s burrow, or hole, provides shelter for at least 360 other animal species. That’s a really large impact to have given their total numbers. Without gopher tortoises and other keystone species, ecosystems can come under great threat. The role that a keystone species plays is crucial. It is like the role of a keystone, or capstone, in an arch.

In an arch, the keystone is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch. While the keystone is under the least pressure of any of the stones, the arch will collapse without it. This is similar to what may happen if a keystone species is removed or comes under threat. Without the presence of keystone species, the ecosystem may be markedly changed.