Definition of bioindicator
plural bioindicators
: a species or ecological community that is so closely associated with particular environmental conditions that its presence is indicative of these conditions in a particular environment
- Bats are what naturalists call bioindicators: they indicate the state of the environment. If you see them, it means the air and water around you are healthy.
- —Michelle Barker, Sherbrooke (Quebec) Record, 31 July 2007
- The team compared two approaches to water-quality testing: measurement of pH and dissolved oxygen levels, and the use of bioindicators (using measures of the abundance and types of stream organisms present).
- —Jennifer Miner et al., The Science Teacher, April 2007
- Oysters, like other bivalves, are sessile organisms that are continually filtering water, and they often bioaccumulate toxins, making them ideal bioindicator species.
- —David C. Metzger, Journal of Shellfish Research, August 2012
