In nature conservation, seeing a species thriving in its environment is always exciting - but often it isn’t just a good sign for that particular plant or creature, there are certain species that give us a unique insight into so much more. 

These plants and animals play a vital role in the National Park as they can tell us how healthy the habitat is around them, and what’s going on in the ecosystem. They act like a ‘nature barometer’ giving living feedback on the environment and helping us to know where to focus our conservation work.  

Some of these species are called key stone species, some are called indicator species, but all of them play an important role in the National Park. 

Fun fact: The name key stone comes from architecture where a key stone is the stone at the summit of an arch, with all of the other stones relying on it – it’s the same in nature.