interbreeding

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   reproduction between animals or plants from different populations, breeds, varieties, or closely related species

   Interbreeding between the two wolf populations introduced new genetic variation.

2. 2
   noun

   reproduction among members of a population, especially as evidence that they belong to the same species

   Regular interbreeding allows genes to circulate throughout the population.

From inter- ('between' or 'among') + breeding, the verbal noun of breed. In biology, the term describes reproduction across groups or among members of a population. Its meaning depends on which groups are being contrasted; it is not a synonym for inbreeding, which concerns reproduction among close relatives.

Topics