The Giant Owl Limpet: Keystone of the Intertidal

A "keystone species" is defined as one so critical to an ecosystem that without it, the system would change dramatically. These are the species that hold a biome together, and their presence or absence has a disproportionate impact on the other organisms within the system and on the system at large. It is always tempting to imagine these incredibly important organisms as proportional in size to their huge role in the ecosystem; however, that is not always the case. Indeed, when considering an aggressively territorial animal with mouthparts made of the strongest natural material in the animal world, smaller size might be a good thing! Enter the giant owl limpet, one of the most fascinating and critical players of the Pacific rocky intertidal zone.

Discover more about these impressive marine snails and how scientists are trying to solve the mystery of their declining size in Cabrillo National Monument. View full screen for the best experience.

View full screen >

Story by Keith Lombardo, Michael Ready, and Jessica Weinberg McClosky.

Photographs by Michael Ready.

Southern California Research Learning Center, November 2020.