| See at indicator (def. 6). |
| indicator species n.
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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
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