Acid Deposition- Emissions of sulfur and nitrogen compounds enter a complex atmospheric cycle where it eventually falls in a wet or dry form.

 

Aestivation- State of animal dormancy

 

Agriculture- The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products

 

Anthropogenic-(chiefly of environmental pollution and pollutants) Originating in human activity.

 

Appeal- To make an urgent request, normally towards the public or court

 

Bequest value- Value of satisfaction from preserving a natural environment or a historic environment, in other words natural heritage or cultural heritage for future generations.

 

Biodiversity- The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

 

Biome-A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat

 

Biphasic life cycle- A life cycle involving two phases.

 

Breeding zone- The location which mating and reproduction of a species take place

 

Climate change- A change in global or regional climate patterns

 

Conservation- Preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife.

 

Critical habitat- A term defined and used in the Endangered Species Act. It is a specific geographic area(s) that contains features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and that may require special management and protection.

 

Cultural eutrophication- Acceleration by human activity of the process by which anaerobic bacteria consume oxygen from water as result of a nutrient overload.

 

Decomposers-An organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that breaks down organic material

 

Decomposition- The state or process of rotting; decay

 

Deforestation- Tranforming a forest into cleared land.

 

Degrade- Break down or deteriorate

 

Desiccation- Losing water to the environment; the ecological process of drying out

 

Designated- (designate) To appoint, or officially assign

 

DPS- Distinct Population Segment. The smallest division of a taxonomic species permitted to be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

 

Drought-A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall; a shortage of water resulting from this

 

Ecology- The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

 

Ecologically diverse-The variation in the ecosystems found in a region or the variation in ecosystems over the whole planet.

 

Ecosystem-A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

 

Endangered- (of a species) Seriously at risk of extinction.

 

Endemic- (of a plant or animal) Native or restricted to a certain country or area.

 

Enlistment- (enlisted) To secure for a cause

 

Exploit- To make full, or complete, use of something

 

Extinction- When an animal is no longer in existence; that has ended or died out

 

Fire suppression- Control and/or extinguish fires without human intervention

 

Food chain- A hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food

 

Food web- A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.

 

Gene Flow- Consists of the movement of alleles among populations

 

Genetic Bottleneck- Sharp reduction of a population from random environmental events causing shifts in allele frequencies.

 

Grasslands-A large open area of country covered with grass

 

Greenhouse Gas- A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation

 

Groundwater- Water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock

 

Habitat fragmentation- The process by which habitat loss results in the division of large, continuous habitats into smaller, more isolated remnants

 

Habitat- The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

 

Indicator Species- Species which indicates the health of an ecosystem

 

Intrinsic- Value that the environment and life forms have in their own right, and which is not derived from the human use they can or cannot be put to

 

Invasive Species- Is a plant, fungus, or animal species that is not native to a specific location (an introduced species), and which has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.

 

Invertebrates- An animal lacking a backbone

 

Lawsuit- A claim or dispute brought to a court of law

 

Leaf litter- Decomposing but recognizable leaves and other debris forming a layer on top of the soil, especially in forests.

 

Legislation- A law, often considered collectively

 

Limiting factors- The environmental factor that is of predominant importance in restricting the size of a population

 

Livestock- Farm animals regarded as an asset

 

Metamorphosis- the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.

 

Migrate- (of an animal) Move from one region or habitat to another, especially regularly according to the seasons

 

Native species- Can be either endemic (found only within a particular region) or indigenous (found both within the region and elsewhere).

 

Nature Preserve- A tract of land managed so as to preserve its flora, fauna, and physical features.

 

Net Primary Productivity- The rate which producers use photosynthesis to produce and store chemical energy minus the rate at which they use some of this stored chemical energy through aerobic respiration.

 

Niche- a position or role taken by a kind of organism within its community

 

Nonnative species- species that migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberately or accidentely introduced into an ecosystem by humans. 

 

Nutrient cycling- The movement and exchange of organic and inorganic matter back into the production of living matter.

 

Over-exploitation- Harvesting species from the wild at rates faster than natural populations can recover.

 

Overpopulation- A function of the number of individuals compared to the relevant resources, such as the water and essential nutrients they need to survive. It can result from an increase in births, a decline in mortality rates, an increase in immigration, or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources.

 

Permeable- Allowing liquids or gases to pass through it

 

Pollution- The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects

 

Predator- An animal that naturally preys on others

 

Preserving- Maintain (something) in its original or existing state

 

Propagation- The reproduction or spreading of something

 

R- (select species) Those that place an emphasis on a high growth rate, and, typically exploit less-crowded ecological niches, and produce many offspring, each of which has a relatively low probability of surviving to adulthood

 

Range- The area where a particular species can be found during its lifetime.

 

Reproduce- To produce one or more other individuals of (a given kind oforganism) by some process of generation or propagation

 

Restore- The scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action.

 

Riparian- Of or relating to wetlands adjacent to rivers and streams.

 

Secondary consumer- Eat primary consumers. They are carnivores (meat-eaters) and omnivores (animals that eat both animals and plants)

 

Sedimentation- The tendency for particles in suspension to settle out in fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against barrier.

 

Terrestrial ecosystem- An ecosystem found only on landforms

 

Tertiary consumer- A carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers

 

Threatened species- Any species (including animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future

 

Topsoil erosion- The erosion of the most nutrient rich top layer of soil.

 

Urbanization- The process where an increasing percentage of a population lives in cities and suburbs

 

UV Radiation- Is simply one form of energy coming from the sun.

 

Vernal pools- A seasonal depressional wetland, meaning that is inundated with water during only certain times of the year.

 

Vegetation- Plants considered collectively, especially those found in a particular area or habitat.

 

Wetlands- Land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land

 

Wildlife Refugees- A designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

       Definitions from (G.T Miller, S.E Spoolman, 2015)