Terms
One form of energy that gets its power from the flow of electric charges.
Electricity
A process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by sound waves reflected back to the emitter (such as a bat) from the objects.
Echolocation
A plant that does not have much wood and its stems are green and soft. These plants grow fast and produce flowers and many seeds in a short period of time
Herbaceous
Environmental factors that influences or restricts the population growth of a species (i.e. disease, food availability, shelter, space, etc.)
Limiting Factors
The study of the physical features of earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity there on.
Geography
Substances discharged into the air, such as gases from cars or smokestacks.
Emissions/Exhaust
An animal's characteristic walking pattern, determined by the animals shape. (ie how a wolf walks vs. how a rabbit moves).
Gait
An immature form of an insect, at the stage between egg and metamorphosis.
Larva
An organism whose presence, absence, or abundance acts as a signal, showing whether an ecosystem is healthy or not.
Indicator Species
The study of earth’s physical structure and substance, its history and processes.
Geology
When land that is usually dry is submerged by an overflow of water.
Flood/Flooding
The process or state of breaking or being broken into small or separate parts.
Fry
The timing of nature's cycles, such as the leaves changing color in the fall or the migration of a butterfly species.
Phenology
A species that plays a crucial role in an ecosystem, where many organisms are impacted by its presence.
Keystone Species
Heat from the earth; a renewable energy source.
Geothermal
The process or state of breaking or being broken into small or separate parts.
Fragmentation
An animal that eats grass or forbs in a field.
Grazer
An insect in its inactive, immature form. The stage between larva and adult, also known as a chrysalis or cocoon.
Pupa
An invertebrate large enough to be seen without a microscope.
Macro-invertebrate
Freshwater held underground in the soil, or in pores and crevices of rock. Humans pump it out by wells to supply water. Natural springs bring up and hold freshwater on the surface. Geological formations called aquifers also hold and contain groundwater.
Groundwater
An effect or influence.
Impact
An organism that houses another organism through a symbiotic relationship.
Host
A butterfly's tongue.
Proboscis
A smaller habitat within a larger one, in which environmental conditions differ from those in the larger one.
Microhabitat
Brightening of the night sky caused by man made light (street lights, buildings, etc.), which has a disruptive effect on natural cycles and wildlife.
Light Pollution