The region of a habitat associated with a particular ecological community.
‘Of the positive environmental impacts, the most noticeable are the rich cultural biotopes, such as meadows and pastures, created by slash-and-burn cultivation.’
‘In general, the enormous variety of plants, animals, and biotopes, which had existed around 1800-as the product of human intervention-decreased considerably, this time because of a new forms of human intervention.’
‘Most hominid fossils earlier than about 2 million years ago are found in association with hippo fossils, implying that they lived in the same biotopes and that hippos later became a source of food for our distant ancestors.’
‘Naked lobose amoebae are among the most abundant group of protists present in all aquatic and terrestrial biotopes.’
‘Says Abhik Mazumdar, the man behind this creation: ‘Only a few people are aware that a fish from lake Malawi belongs to a radically different biotope from a fish which originates from the Amazon river.’’
Origin
Early 20th century from German Biotop, based on Greek topos ‘place’.
Are You Learning English? Here Are Our Top English Tips