BIODIVERSITY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does biodiversity mean? 

• BIODIVERSITY (noun)
  The noun BIODIVERSITY has 1 sense:

1. the diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat (or in the world as a whole)

  Familiarity information: BIODIVERSITY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BIODIVERSITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat (or in the world as a whole)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

a high level of biodiversity is desirable

Hypernyms ("biodiversity" is a kind of...):

diverseness; diversity; multifariousness; variety (noticeable heterogeneity)

 Context examples 

It plays havoc with the ecosystem and the consequences may extend to local people who depend on marine biodiversity for income and as a source of food.

(New way to save endangered sharks – and our seafood, SciDev.Net)

Strassburg described the cerrado as a major global hotspot for biodiversity, which could be threatened with destruction.

(Species native to Brazil savanna likely to face extinction, Agência Brasil)

The ecologists show how vital large animals are to maintaining the biodiversity of tropical forests in Thailand.

(Overhunting of large animals has catastrophic effects on trees, NSF)

The chemical processes that influence biodiversity by stimulating the sprouting and blossoming of plants, fruiting and seed dispersal, are regulated partly by fires.

(Fire control harms biodiversity in Brazilian savannah, SciDev.Net)

Despite covering less than one percent of Earth's surface area, ancient lakes contain almost half the world's fresh surface water and a large share of its freshwater biodiversity.

(Ancient lakes: eyes into the past, and the future, National Science Foundation)

The researchers modeled the effects of biodiversity by analyzing wave strength in conjunction with the foraging abilities of various fish.

(Galapagos sea life study highlights importance of biodiversity in the face of climate change, National Science Foundation)

Now a new study in Science provides evidence that the process of sharing DNA may be far more common than thought, offering a potential clue to how biodiversity unfolded.

(Study reveals surprising amount of gene flow among butterfly species, National Science Foundation)

The report says the spread of the disease has impinged not only on biodiversity but also on human activities linked to the declining species.

(Deadly fungal disease ‘caused greatest biodiversity loss ever recorded’, SciDev.Net)

New pathways create opportunities for evolutionary innovation, ultimately increasing bird biodiversity.

(Colorful bird feathers offer evolutionary clues, National Science Foundation)

Researchers examined 37 years of data tied to plant biodiversity (number of different species) and plant productivity (amount of plants) in 21 grassland and savanna areas in Minnesota.

(Plant biodiversity struggles to return in wake of agricultural abandonment, National Science Foundation)