An accidental spill of a pesticide locally wiped out the most abundant species of butterfly in coastal California.Most of the bird species in the area had fed on this butterfly,but they switched prey to moths,and thus the birds showed only a small decrease in population size.The butterflies were a/an:

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The butterflies were an ecological dominant because their high abundance made them a significant part of the ecosystem's food web. However, the fact that the ecosystem could adjust (birds switching from butterflies to moths) without collapsing indicates they were not a keystone species, whose removal would have a disproportionate effect on the ecosystem's structure and function.

An Accidental Spill of a Pesticide Locally Wiped Out the Most