A biotope is an area of uniform environmental (physical) conditions providing habitat(s) for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. Used in this sense, "biotope" is really synonymous with the term "ecosystem". However, some ecologists would limit the term to encompassing only physical environmental factors; essentially meaning: the habitat of a community of organisms. Thus, a species has a certain habitat, but the group of species that share an ecosystem with that species, share a biotope. Just as a habitat is the place where a species is found, so a biotope is the place where a specific biological community is found.

The Commission of the European Communities of the European Union has a biotopes project that forms part of the CORINE (CO-oRdinated of INformation on the Environment) experimental work programme that publishes the CORINE Biotope Manual (ISBN 9992441577) describing and defining hundreds of different biotopes. These are described based on both their physical aspects and the dominant species present.

Biotope aquarium

The term "biotope" is also used in the aquarium fish hobby to describe an aquarium setup that tries to simulate the natural habitat of specific fishes. The idea is to replicate conditions and species of fishes and plants that represent a particular real-world biotope.

External links

• Biotope Aquariums at Badman's Tropical Fish
• CORINE Biotopes Abstract on-line at EEA of CORINE Biotypes - The design, compilation and use of an inventory of sites of major importance for nature conservation in the European Community
• MarLIN The Marine Life Information Network for Britain & Ireland