Elephants shape their environment in many ways. they can change a forest to a grassy field or dig a hole that might become a pond. they clear large amounts of vegetation, which removes habitats for some organisms but makes the area inviting for other organisms. which best describes possible interactions of elephants with the surrounding ecosystem?

A good way of how we could describe the elephants' interaction with its environment and the surrounding ecosystem is that they're actively manipulating it. They are making the ecosystem more available and more accessible to themselves in the sense that it increases their own likelihood of obtaining food and thriving in a certain ecosystem. Changing a forest to a grassy tree for example leads to grass being grown which the elephants can then eat. 

Size and shape of continents