aerobiologyn.
/ˌɛːrə(ʊ)bʌɪˈɒlədʒi/, U.S. /ˌɛroʊˌbaɪˈɑlədʒi/, /ˌɛrəˌbaɪˈɑlədʒi/ The study of the aerial transport of organisms, their products, and other substances, esp. in relation to the spread or distribution of animal and plant diseases.
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the world > life > biology > study > [noun] > ecology > specific habitats
marine biology1880
limnology1893
limnobiology1899
cryobiology1921
hydro-biology1928
soil biology1928
aerobiology1937
astrobiology1941
gnotobiotics1949
saprobiology1958
gnotobiology1963
1937 Biol. Abstr. 11 2348/2 Aerobiology.
1938 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 226 572 Expansion of the new science of aerobiology..will shed new light on the spread of microörganisms, viruses, pollen, and dusts, Mr. Meier says.
1948 O. C. Durham in W. T. Vaughan Pract. of Allergy (ed. 2) xlii. 451 The essential contribution of aerobiology to allergy is that of determining with reasonable accuracy the relative and actual amounts of aero-allergens that may be contacted in any place at any time.
1978 Bull. Brit. Mycol. Soc. 12 ii. 144 The cereal work is concerned with..the aerobiology of eye-spot.
1999 New Scientist 24 July 37/2 Aerobiology is also pinpointing newly discovered environmental hazards.
Derivatives
ˌaerobioˈlogical adj. of or relating to aerobiology.
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1942 F. R. Moulton Aerobiol. 1/2 Agriculture and medicine appear to be the general fields in which there is greatest present need for aerobiological investigations.
1998 Frederick (Maryland) Post 21 July (Hello section) 52 (caption) The sphere is the largest aerobiological chamber ever constructed.
ˌaerobiˈologist adj. an expert or specialist in aerobiology.
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1939 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 26 Aug. 3/5 It's the wind–kerchoo!–that helps make hay fever so widespread, said Dr. O. C. Durham of Chicago, prominent aerobiologist.
1999 New Scientist 24 July 36/2 To predict pollen loads even a day or two in advance, aerobiologists have to rely on the weather forecasts for sunshine, humidity, wind speed and the like.
2001 U.S. News & World Rep. 12 Mar. 77/1 Aerobiologists are working to figure out the complex interplay of weather, pollen, biology, and allergies.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1937