Prairie dogs are burrowing rodents that live in grasslands. what makes the prairie dog a keystone species in the ecosystem? a) prairie dogs are the main source of food for wolves and coyotes in the grassland. b) prairie dogs are the species with the largest number of individuals in the grassland ecosystem. c) they successfully compete with the other herbivores for grass and are a major threat to these species. d) their tunnels act as conduits for rain water to seep into the ground, thereby promoting the growth of grass.

Answer is  D. Their tunnels act as conduits for rain water to seep into the ground, thereby promoting the growth of grass.

Prairie dogs are the rodents which make burrows. These prairie dogs live that burrows in large colonies in the grasslands. Prairie dogs are regarded as a “keystone” species because their habitats provide benefits to lot of other species. A number of species such as tiger salamander use their burrows as their homes. Most importantly prairie dogs aerate and fertilize the soil as their burrows act as conduits for rain water to seep into the ground, thereby promoting the growth of grass. This promote greater diversity of plants in that region.

hydroxyl -oh

alcohols, always polar, can form hydrogen bonds with h2o molecules

carboxyl -cooh  

cargoxylic acids, has acidic properties which is a source of hydrogen ions, found in cells in ionized for with a charge of oh-1

carbonyl > co

ketone if within skeleton, aldehyde if group is at the end of skeleton, k & a may be structural isomers, it determines 2 sugars (ketose & aldose)

amino -nh2

amines, acts as a base, it can pick up h+ ions from surrounding solution, ionized with charge of 1+

methyl ch2

addition to rna/dna affects and gene expression

phosphate -opo3 ²⁻

organic phosphates, contributes to negative charge to, molecule that it is a part of, and potential to react with h20

sulfhydryl -sh

thiols, cross-linking stabilize the protein, and it is structure

as the gila monster consumes the eggs or young of the desert cottontail and gambel's quail, thus its main food supply is only accessible for a restricted time duration every year. however, for this, the gila monsters exhibit three adaptations, which elevate their survival rate in the desert condition.  

first, is that they possess huge bodies, and can consume greater concentrations of food during a small period. secondly, they require to feed infrequently as they can accumulate fat in their tails. ultimately, their rate of metabolism is very low, so that they can burn their reservoirs of fat gradually.