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die-off
[ dahy-awf, -of ]
noun
- a sudden, natural perishing of large numbers of a species, population, or community.
die-off
/ ī′ô′ /
- A sudden, severe decline in a population or community of organisms as a result of natural causes. Local die-offs can be caused by such factors as an unusual or extreme weather pattern, an outbreak of disease, or toxic algal blooms in a body of water. Widespread or global die-offs in which a species or group of species becomes extinct are generally associated with rapid climate change or other large-scale environmental dislocations.
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of die-off1
Idioms and Phrases
Perish one by one, as in A celibate community, the Shakers are dying off . [Late 1600s]Example Sentences
The team also showed that decayed elephant carcasses were more spread out across the landscape than fresh carcasses, indicating that the die-off in 2020 was different from typical elephant mortality patterns.
The dewatering of the river and the mass fish die-off, which were first reported by the news website SJV Water, have sparked an outpouring of concern in the community.
In 2022, a mass fish die-off occurred in the Klamath River after successive landslides dumped fire-scarred soil and debris into the watershed, dropping dissolved oxygen levels for several hours.
Coral bleaching is similar to but more extensive than the kelp forest die-off along the coasts of South Australia and California.
The consequences of a widespread urchin die-off for marine ecosystems could be dire, biologists say.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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