Editing Ecosystem engineer (section)

{{Short description|Ecological niche}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
[[Image:Beaver.jpg|thumb|[[Beavers]] are the prototypical ecosystem engineer because of the effects their [[beaver dam|dams]] have on [[Channel (geography)|channel]] flow, [[geomorphology]], and ecology.]]
[[Image:Rockfish around kelp Monterey Bay Aquarium.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Kelp]] are autogenic ecosystem engineers, by building the necessary structure for kelp forests.]]

An '''ecosystem engineer''' is any [[species]] that creates, significantly modifies, maintains or destroys a [[habitat]]. These organisms can have a large impact on [[species richness]] and landscape-level [[heterogeneity]] of an area.<ref name=Wright>{{cite journal | last1 = Wright | first1 = Justin P | last2 = Jones | first2 = Clive G | last3 = Flecker | first3 = Alexander S | year = 2002 | title = An ecosystem engineer, the beaver, increases species richness at the landscape scale | journal = Ecosystems Ecology | volume = 132 | issue = 1| pages = 96–101 | doi=10.1007/s00442-002-0929-1| pmid = 28547281 | bibcode = 2002Oecol.132...96W | s2cid = 5940275 }}</ref> As a result, ecosystem engineers are important for maintaining the health and stability of the environment they are living in. Since all organisms impact the environment they live in one way or another, it has been proposed that the term "ecosystem engineers" be used only for [[keystone species]] whose behavior very strongly affects other organisms.<ref name= Haemig>{{cite web |last=Haemig |first=PD |year=2012 |title=Ecosystem Engineers: wildlife that create, modify and maintain habitats |website=ecology.info |url=http://www.ecology.info/ecosystem-engineers.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506182829/http://www.ecology.info/ecosystem-engineers.htm |archive-date=6 May 2021 }}</ref>