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

This is a useful method that’s worked for a long time, but it still requires extra processing power on top of rendering a game at high resolutions to minimize the jagged edge effects.

From Popular-Science

At the same time, they more than doubled their lattice’s size compared to earlier efforts, so that they could study hadrons’ behavior near the center of the lattice without worrying about edge effects.

From Quanta Magazine