edge effect

noun

, Ecology.

1. the tendency toward greater variety and density of plant and animal populations in an ecotone.

edge effect

/ ĕj /

1. The influence that two ecological communities have on each other along the boundary (called the ecotone) that separates them. Because such an area contains habitats common to both communities as well as others unique to the transition zone itself, the edge effect is typically characterized by greater species diversity and population density than occur in either of the individual communities.

Word History and Origins

Origin of edge effect¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

"Corporate policies that focus only on deforestation and land-use change are not enough to mitigate the risk of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. They fail to consider how agricultural expansion and deforestation increase the risk of pathogen spillover from reservoir to hosts. There is a need for policies to reduce the edge effect, create pathogen surveillance systems and improve the health care systems of communities living in areas that are emerging infectious hotspots," explains Paula A. Sánchez, researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and co-author of the study.

From Science Daily

"If you suddenly take that scheme away you get that cliff edge effect where all of a sudden a large proportion of the network suddenly becomes unviable".

From BBC

Krogh explained that this definition was chosen because smaller tracts are at risk of the “edge effect,” where trees die faster and biodiversity is harder to maintain near the edge of the forest.

From Reuters

Then there’s the “cliff edge” effect, which is the possibility that some traits are pushed very far towards a peak that’s close to a place where fitness collapses for a few percent of the population.

From Scientific American

"He basically said we need a transitional deal to avoid a cliff edge effect, but the EU also needs to argue for it," one person at the dinner said.

From Reuters