Passive dispersal

Pronunciation
/PAS-iv dis-PER-sul/
Category
Behavior

Definition

The movement of organisms to new habitats primarily driven by external factors such as wind currents or water flow.

Etymology

From Latin 'passivus', meaning 'inactive' and 'dispersal', referring to the lack of active effort in movement.

Example

Wind dispersal is a common example of passive dispersal in spiders, where spiderlings use silk threads to catch the wind and travel to new locations.

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