Bioindicator
Bioindicator
A Bioindicator (pronunciation: /ˌbaɪoʊˈɪndɪˌkeɪtər/) is an organism or biological response that reveals the presence of the environmental conditions in a particular ecosystem. Bioindicators can inform us about the health of the ecosystem and indicate a change in the environment due to various factors, including pollution or species competition.
Etymology
The term "Bioindicator" is derived from the Greek word "bios" meaning "life" and the Latin word "indicare" meaning "to indicate". It was first used in the late 20th century to describe organisms used to monitor environmental health.
Related Terms
- Biomonitoring: The use of living organisms to test the suitability of an environment, often for a specific purpose such as drinking water or agriculture.
- Biotic component: The living components of an ecosystem, which interact with each other and with the abiotic components.
- Abiotic component: The non-living components of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, temperature, and soil, which interact with the biotic components.
- Ecosystem: A community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system.
- Pollution: The introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change.
- Species competition: The interaction between species over limited resources, leading to a decrease in the population of less competitive species.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Bioindicator
- Wikipedia's article - Bioindicator
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