Prepared by Melanie Walker
Abiotic: factors which affect an ecosystem and are not produced
by living organisms (for example, temperature and precipitation).
Adaptation: a trait that helps the organism to survive
in the environment.
Altitude: the height an area is above sea level.
Amphibian: a type of animal that can live on land and
in the water. It is cold-blooded and can breathe through its skin or lungs.
Arid: having little or no rain.
Behaviour: how an organism reacts to a certain condition.
Biogeoclimatic Zone: a geographic region that is unique
because of its climate and the plants that grow there. Each zone is characterized
by a specific type of plant species.
Biological control: a way to get rid of insect pests,
like aphids, by using natural things, like predatory bugs.
Biology: the study of evolution, structure, function and
reproduction in plant and animal species specific to a particular area.
Biome: a large ecological area (for example, a shrub-steppe,
forest or wetlands).
Biotic: any factors that affect an ecosystem and are produced
or caused by living organisms (for example, overpopulation).
Blue List: a list of plant and animal species created
by wildlife biologists. Species on this list are not in trouble right
now, but could become endangered if humans are not careful.
Climate: the average weather conditions of a geographic
area which have remained fairly constant over many years.
Conservation: protection of the environment, especially
wildlife habitats and natural ecosystems.
Decomposers: organisms like bacteria, earthworms and small
bugs that eat dead organic material and break it down into tiny soil particles.
Dicots: flowering plants like trees, peas, buttercups
or shrubs that possess two embyronic leaves.
Ecosystem: a system where all plants, animals and living
organisms rely on each other to survive.
Endangered: an animal or plant species that has very few
of its type left in the world. The word "endangered" suggests
that the remaining few will not survive unless humans do something to
help them.
Environment: external conditions or surroundings which
affect the organisms living in an area.
Extinct: a species of plant or animal which does not exist
any more.
Extirpated: the loss of a plant or animal species from
part of its geographic range.
Fern: a type of plant that reproduces using spores instead
of seeds.
Food Chain: a series of organisms in a community where
one feeds on another in the chain and is eaten, in turn, by another.
Food Web: the pattern created when many food chains join
together at common links.
Geography: the study of physical features and natural
factors like climate, soil and vegetation.
Habitat: an environment which provides food, water, shelter
and space for a plant or animal species.
Hypothesis: a suggested explanation for something; an
intelligent guess as a starting point for further investigation.
Insect: a small invertebrate usually with wings and three
pairs of legs and a hard covering instead of skin or fur.
Invertebrate: an organism that does not have a backbone.
Mammal: a warm-blooded animal that gives birth to live
babies and nourishes them with milk.
Moisture: water in the form of rain or snow.
Monocot: plants with one seed leaf. Flower parts usually
in multiples of three, including grasses and some flowering plants.
Nutrient: a source of nourishment or food for living things.
Omnivore: an animal species that eats both plants and
animals.
Organisms: living creatures, like plants or animals.
Pesticides: chemicals used by people to kill pests such
as insects.
Population: a group of organisms of the same species which
live in a certain area.
Predator: an animal that eats other animals for food.
Prey: a creature that is hunted or captured by another
animal for food.
Red List: a list of plant and animal species created by
wildlife biologists. Species on this list are endangered and may become
extinct if humans do not help them to survive.
Reintroduction: putting endangered organisms back into
places where they used to live.
Reproduction: the process by which a plant or animal produces
one or more individuals similar to itself. For example, many plants reproduce
by making seeds.
Reptile: a cold-blooded creature that has scales instead
of skin.
Seasonal: an event that occurs during a certain time of
the year.
Species: a group of plants or animals that share common
characteristics
Status: the position or importance of one species compared
to another.
Surroundings: the physical structures and environmental
conditions around an organism.
Territory: an area inhabited and defended by a species.
Threatened: a plant or animal species that may become
endangered.
Toxic: poisonous.
Unique: different than all others.
Wetlands: an area of land that has lots of marshes, ponds
and rivers.
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