subnivium

noun

1. The seasonal microenvironment beneath the snow.

   Voles and shrews thriving in networks of tunnels in the subnivium would experience a loss of their snowy refuge and face greater metabolic demands to cope with more-frequent and harsher exposure to the elements.

Where it comes from

From sub- (“under”) + Latin nix (“snow”) + -ium.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry subnivium (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← subnectsuborn →

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