Glossary and abbreviations - Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects - page 533

three-carbon sugar phosphate molecules, which the
plant uses to make more complex carbohydrates.

Carnivora Flesh-eating mammals.

dendrochronology Reconstruction of past climate change from tree rings.

ecotone A transitional zone between two habitats (e.g. forest

bordering grassland).

Eemian The previous interglacial (in some texts referred to as

the Ipswichian, Sangamon or Eem-Sangamon inter-
glacial) that occurred some 125 000 years ago.

endosymbiont Organism(s) living inside the cell of another, in a sym-

biotic (close and mutually beneficial) relationship.

Eocene A 22 million-year epoch beginning 55.8 mya ( see

Appendix 2).

eukaryote An organism with cells that contain a membrane-

bound nucleus and other structures (organelles) also
surrounded by a membrane. Animals and plants have
eukaryotic cells. See also prokaryote.

eustatic Changes in global sea level due to changes in the size

of the Earth's ocean basins, as well as in local sea level
due to tectonic movement.

evapotranspiration The total loss of water from soil by evaporation and

by the transpiration of plants growing in the soil.

fecundity The number of offspring produced by an individual or

breeding pair.

Fennoscandia The north-western part of the Eurasian continent and

commonly used in association with the glacial ice
sheets covering the north of that continent.

fertility The ability to reproduce (irrespective of realisation).

(Note: some human demography texts do not distin-
guish between fertility and fecundity. Ecologists do,
and this text uses the ecological definition to avoid
confusion.)

folivorous Leaf-eating.

forcing A factor that affects the climate, warming or cooling

it. Climate-forcing factors include aerosols and green-
house gases.

glacial A cool period within an ice age with expanded ice

caps and lower sea levels. However, often in common
parlance glacials are known as ice ages and this can
lead to some confusion.

global warming potential The global warming over a specific time period result-

ing from the addition of a greenhouse gas compared
to the same mass of carbon dioxide.

Gondwana (Gondwanaland) The supercontinent in the southern hemisphere that

existed 200 mya but which has since fragmented.

Heinrich events Short periods of glacial Arctic ice rafting.