Pessimum
The ( ecological ) pessimum (from Latin pessimus - worst) denotes the limit value (minimum or maximum) of a tolerance range of a biological species within which the respective organism can just about exist. In contrast to this is the (ecological) optimum .
For abiotic environmental factors, there is a range of values for each species, called the physiological potency of the species, within which the species can exist. For the temperature factor, for example, this would be the range within which it is neither too hot nor too cold for the species. If the range of values is plotted against the prosperity of the respective species (measured for example as growth rate , survival rate or reproduction rate ), an optimum curve is obtained . This usually results in two pessima, a minimum and a maximum for the respective factor.
Further meanings:
- Pessimum , generally the opposite of optimum ;
- Pessimum describes in particular the worst possible development or expression, cf. also pessimism
See also
- Pessimum of the migration period
- Pessimum law, see minimum law (in agricultural science)
swell
- Matthias Schaefer: Ecology. Biology dictionaries. 3rd edition, 1992. Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena (UTB for Science Volume 430). ISBN 3 8252 0430 8
Individual evidence
- ^ Eckhard Philipp, Antje Starke, Bernhard Verbeek, Rolf Wellinghorst: Ecology . In: Green series . Schroedel Verlag, Braunschweig 2005, ISBN 978-3-507-10914-8 .