A
Adaptation: A genetically determined characteristic, or inherited trait, that makes an organism better able to cope with its environment.
Alpine: Relating to mountainous regions.
Arid: Land that receives less than 10 inches (250 millimeters) of rainfall annually and has a high rate of evaporation.
B
Biodiversity: The entire variety of life on Earth.
Brackish: A mixture of freshwater and saltwater; briny water.
Browse: A method of grazing in which an animal eats the leaf and twig growth of shrubs, woody vines, trees, and cacti.
C
Canopy: The uppermost spreading branchy layer of a forest.
Carapace: A shell or bony covering on the back of animals such as turtles, lobsters, crabs, and armadillos.
Carnivore: An animal that eats mainly meat.
Carrion: Dead and decaying flesh.
Cetacean: An aquatic mammal that belongs to the order Cetacea, which includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
Chaparral: An ecological community of shrubby plants adapted to long, dry summers and natural forest fire cycles, generally found in southern California.
CITES: Abbreviation for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; an international agreement by 143 nations to prohibit trade of endangered wildlife.
Clear-cutting: The process of cutting down all the trees in a forest area.
Clutch: The number of eggs produced or incubated at one time.
Competitor: A species that may compete for the same resources as another species.
Conservation: The management and protection of the natural world.
Critical habitat: A designated area considered necessary for the protection and preservation of a species that has been listed under the Endangered Species Act in the United States. The area, either within or near the species’ historical range, must provide an environment for normal behavior and reproduction so that the species may recover. The critical habitat designation does not prohibit human activity or create a refuge for the species. Once it has been established, though, any federal agencies planning to build or conduct activities within that area must seek the permission of the USFWS. The designation also serves to alert the public to the importance of the area in the species’ survival.
D
Deciduous: Shedding seasonally; a tree whose leaves fall off annually or a forest made up of trees that shed their leaves annually, for example.
Deforestation: The loss of forests as they are rapidly cut down to produce timber or to make land available for agriculture.
Desertification: The gradual transformation of productive land into that with desert like conditions.
Diurnal: Active during the day.
Domesticated: Animals trained to live with or be of use to humans.
E
Ecosystem: An ecological community, including plants, animals, and microorganisms, considered together with their environment.
Endangered: Species in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.
Endangered Species Act (ESA): The legislation, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1973, which protects listed species.
Endangered Species List: The list of species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Endemic species: A species native to, and found only in, a certain region.
Estivate: To hibernate (or sleep) through the summer.
Estuary: The place where freshwater enters the sea (e.g., at a river mouth).
Extinction: A species or subspecies is extinct when no living members exist.
Extirpated species: A species that no longer survives in the regions that were once part of its range.
F
Fauna: The animal life of a particular region, geological period, or environment.
Feral: An animal that has escaped from domestication and has become wild.
Fledge: When birds grow the feathers needed for flight.
Flora: The plants of a particular region, geological period, or environment.
G
Gene: The basic biological unit of heredity that determines individual traits. Part of the DNA molecule, the gene is transmitted from parents to children during reproduction, and contains information for making particular proteins, which then make particular cells.
Gestation: Pregnancy.
H
Habitat: The environment in which specified organisms live.
Herbivore: An animal that eats mainly plants.
Historic range: The areas in which a species is believed to have lived in the past.
I
Inbreeding: The mating or breeding of closely related individuals, usually within small communities. Inbreeding occurs when both parents have at least one common ancestor.
Introduced species: Flora or fauna not native to an area, but introduced from a different ecosystem.
IUCN: Abbreviation for International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; publishes IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals and IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants.
L
Larval: The immature stage of certain insects and animals, usually of a species that develops by complete metamorphosis.
Lichen: A plantlike composite consisting of a fungus and an alga.
M
Marsupial: Mammals, such as the kangaroo and the opossum, whose young continue to develop after birth in a pouch on the outside of the mother’s body.
Metamorphosis: A change in the form and habits of an animal during natural development.
Migrating: The act of changing location periodically, usually moving seasonally from one region to another.
Molting: The process of shedding an outer covering, such as skin or feathers, for replacement by a new growth.
N
Native species: The flora or fauna indigenous or native to an ecosystem, as opposed to introduced species.
Nocturnal: Most active at night.
O
Old-growth forest: A mature forest dominated by long-lived species (at least 200 years old), but also including younger trees; its complex physical structure includes multiple layers in the canopy, many large trees, and many large dead standing trees and dead logs.
P
Perennial: A plant that lives, grows, flowers, and produces seeds for three or more continuous years.
Poaching: Illegally taking protected animals or plants.
Pollution: The contamination of air, water, or soil by the discharge of harmful substances.
Population: A group of organisms of one species occupying a defined area and usually isolated from similar groups of the same species.
Predator: An animal that preys on others.
Prehensile: Adapted for grasping or holding, especially by wrapping around something.
Pupal: An intermediate, inactive stage between the larva and adult stages in the life cycle of many insects.
R
Rain forest: A dense evergreen forest with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches (254 cm); may be tropical (e.g., Amazon) or temperate (e.g., Pacific Northwest).
Range: The area naturally occupied by a species.
Recovery: The process of stopping or reversing the decline of an endangered or threatened species to ensure the species’ long-term survival in the wild.
Reintroduction: The act of placing members of a species in their original habitat.
Reserve: An area of land set aside for the use or protection of a species or group of species.
Rhizomatous plant: A plant having an underground horizontal stem that puts out shoots above ground and roots below.
S
Savanna: A flat, treeless tropical or subtropical grassland.
Scrub: A tract of land covered with stunted or scraggly trees and shrubs.
Slash-and-burn agriculture: The process whereby a forest is cut down and all trees and vegetation are burned to create cleared land.
Species: A group of individuals related by descent and able to breed among themselves but not with other organisms.
Steppe: Vast, semiarid grass-covered plains found in southeast Europe, Siberia, and central North America.
Subspecies: A population of a species distinguished from other such populations by certain characteristics.
Succulent: A plant that has thick, fleshy, water-storing leaves or stems.
Sustainable development: Methods of farming or building human communities that meet the needs of the current generation without depleting or damaging the natural resources in the area or compromising its ability to meet the needs of future generations.
T
Taproot: The main root of a plant growing straight downward from the stem.
Territoriality: The behavior displayed by an individual animal, a mating pair, or a group in vigorously defending its domain against intruders.
Troglobyte: A species that lives only in caves.
Tropical: Characteristic of a region or climate that is frost free with temperatures high enough to support—with adequate precipitation—plant growth year round.
Tundra: A relatively flat, treeless plain in alpine, arctic, and antarctic regions.
U
Underbrush: Small trees, shrubs, or similar plants growing on the forest floor underneath taller trees.
Urban sprawl: The spreading of houses, shopping centers, and other city facilities through previously undeveloped land.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS): A federal agency that oversees implementation of the Endangered Species Act.
V
Vulnerable: A species is vulnerable when it satisfies some risk criteria, but not at a level that warrants its identification as Endangered.
W
Wetland: A permanently moist lowland area such as a marsh or a swamp.
