Elephants are not the most abundant species in african grasslands, yet they influence community structure. the grasslands contain scattered woody plants, but they are kept in check by the uprooting activities of the elephants. take away the elephants, and the grasslands convert to forests or to shrublands. the newly growing forests support fewer species than the previous grasslands. why elephants are the keystone species in this scenario?

E) Elephants help other populations survive by repelling many large African predators

Explanation:

Elephants are large mammals. Elephants in Africa have a height of 4 meters and weigh up to 7 tons.

The role of elephants in the ecosystem is very important especially its impact both directly and indirectly on the environment. With a large size and height, other predatory animals such as lions, tigers, coyotes, hyenas do not want to get close to elephants. Elephants are animals that prefer to group. While still breastfeeding will be very protected by the mother for up to 3 years. Elephants have an average age of up to 70 years. Perhaps very few elephants have fallen prey to predators. Thus elephants are animals that indirectly protect other animals in Africa. Things like this also indirectly make grasslands become more fertile and other animal species also become more numerous.

So the most appropriate answer is E. E) Elephants help other populations survive by repelling many large African predators

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Class : Senior High

Subject : Biology

Keywords

- Elephants

- Ecosystem

for  example, forests have higher evapotranspiration than other ecosystems,  such  as grasslands, because of their deeper roots and greater leaf area. thus forests have a net moistening effect on the atmosphere and become a moisture source for downwind ecosystems.