Meaning of ecotone in English:
ecotone
noun
EcologyA region of transition between two biological communities.
‘ecotones between two habitats are often richer in species than either’- ‘Belt transects or strip transects have traditionally been used to study transitions between community types, such as the ecotone between a forested community and the grassy vegetation in a forest opening.’
- ‘Tigers thrive in the areas known as ecotones that exist between cultivation and dense forest.’
- ‘The apparent importance of ecotones in defining habitat quality for Northern Spotted Owls in northwestern California is based on long-term observational data.’
- ‘This migratory species is especially vulnerable to flooding because of its ground foraging ecology, but little is known about patterns of habitat occupancy at wetland ecotones.’
- ‘I relocated white-footed mice from high-quality, oak-dominated hardwood and lower quality, white pine forests to novel sites and released them along the ecotone of these two habitat types.’
Pronunciation
Origin
Early 20th century from eco- + Greek tonos ‘tension’.
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