indicator species
Use Indicator species in a sentenceindicator species
noun
See at indicator ( def 6 ).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To indicator species
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| indicator species
A species whose presence, absence, or relative well-being in a given environment is a sign of the overall health of its ecosystem. By monitoring the condition and behavior of an indicator species, scientists can determine how changes in the environment are likely to affect other species that are more difficult to study. Compare keystone species. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
00:10
Indicator species
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
indicator species
organism-often a microorganism or a plant-that serves as a measure of the environmental conditions that exist in a given locale. For example, greasewood indicates saline soil; mosses often indicate acid soil. Tubifex worms indicate oxygen-poor and stagnant water unfit to drink. The presence of certain species of plants suggests how well other species might grow in the same place
Learn more about indicator species with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Seasonal pool indicator species rely on seasonal pools as essential habitat.
The species is also used as indicator species in severely polluted systems and is sometimes the only species found in these areas.
Some are considered by scientists to be indicator species and are a way of telling whether or not a river or lake is polluted.
Matching Quote
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
