What is a word for an area very dense in variety of insect/animal life?

stateofmind

stateofmind

seeker of lies
Valued Senior Member
The closest I can come up with is an "ecosystem" but that's kind of general and doesn't say anything about density. I feel like I've heard a word for this before but I'm not sure. Any ideas?
 
stateofmind said:
The closest I can come up with is an "ecosystem" but that's kind of general and doesn't say anything about density. I feel like I've heard a word for this before but I'm not sure. Any ideas?
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Another word for "teeming with life" like biodiversity or species richness?
 
"Flourishing ecosystem" "prolific and abounding" "teeming" "swarming" "multitudinous" "We were set upon by untold and innumerous crawling and flying things. George never was so happy."
 
According to Wikipedia, the term standing crop means the total biomass of the living organisms (all six kingdoms of living things: animals, plants, fungi, algae, bacteria and archaea) present in an environment. However, "biomass" excludes water (don't ask why), so you can't measure biomass while the organisms are alive!
 
stateofmind said:
The closest I can come up with is an "ecosystem" but that's kind of general and doesn't say anything about density. I feel like I've heard a word for this before but I'm not sure. Any ideas?
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Eco-diverse, bio-rich and fecund are words I've encountered in literature about jungles.
 
Fraggle Rocker said:
"Fecund" is limited specifically to reproducing abundantly. Of course it also is used metaphorically for someone who is very talented, productive, etc.
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It is also used metaphorically for Nature, when describing an ecosystem that is dense in population and variety of life.
 
Well, I suppose because the diversity depends on all the plants, insects, birds and animals engaging enthusiastically in their respective reproductive activities.
 
stateofmind said:
The closest I can come up with is an "ecosystem" but that's kind of general and doesn't say anything about density. I feel like I've heard a word for this before but I'm not sure. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
I've heard the noun phrase "biodiversity hotspot", which really seems to nail it. But if you're after a specific adjective, I too can only think of general ones. Given the significance of biodiversity in a heating, choking world, it's probably time someone invented that specific adjective.
 
Fraggle Rocker said:
Wikipedia says that the definition has another very important dimension: the biodiversity is under threat of humans.
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...and hey, what isn't. :( I've just remembered a (compound) adjective I have heard— 'species-rich'. Doesn't feel really... fecund enough, though, does it.
 
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