pioneer species

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noun

Hardy organisms, such as lichens, grasses, or certain insects, that are the first to colonize barren, disturbed, or newly created environments, thereby initiating ecological succession.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"They are looking for a needle in a haystack, sometimes looking for single beetles - to get hold of the pioneer species before they are allowed to establish," Andrea Deol said.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025

A pioneer species is a species that is transported out of its native habitat into a non-native habitat, where there are few or no natural predators to keep the population in check.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Thesaurus

Possible Synonyms

primary colonizer
ecosystem starter
ruderal species
early successional species
first wave life

Possible Antonyms

equilibrium species
old-growth dweller
stable-state organism
late-stage inhabitant
climax species