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Biology vocabulary · Ecology and Ecosystems

Biodiversity

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ˌbaɪoʊdaɪˈvɜːrsəti/nounCore term

In biology, biodiversity means: The variety of life in a particular place or on Earth as a whole, including the diversity of genes, species and ecosystems.

In Turkish: biyoçeşitlilik, biyolojik çeşitlilik

How it is used

A short form of 'biological diversity', used in ecology, conservation and environmental policy. People talk about biodiversity loss, biodiversity hotspots and conserving biodiversity. Tropical rainforests and coral reefs have very high biodiversity.

Example sentences

  1. Turkey has rich plant biodiversity, with many species found nowhere else in the world.

  2. Draining the wetland led to a sharp loss of biodiversity.

Common collocations

  • biodiversity loss
  • biodiversity hotspot
  • conserve biodiversity
  • marine biodiversity
  • speciesA group of similar organisms that can breed with each other and produce fertile offspring. It is the basic unit used to classify living things.
  • ecosystemA community of living things together with the non-living parts of their environment, such as water, soil and climate, all interacting as one system.
  • habitatThe natural place where a particular organism or species lives and finds the food, shelter and conditions it needs.
  • invasive speciesA species brought by humans, on purpose or by accident, to a region where it does not naturally live, and which spreads and harms native species or the ecosystem.
  • populationAll the members of one species that live in the same area at the same time and can breed with each other.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Ecology and Ecosystems

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