glossary

atmosphere*

NOUN. 1. The gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the earth, and retained by the celestial body's gravitational field. 2. The air or climate in a specific place. 3. abbr. atm Physics A unit of pressure equal to the air pressure at sea level. It equals the amount of pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 millimeters high at 0 degrees Celsius under standard gravity, or 14.7 pounds per square inch (1.01325 × 105 pascals)... 4. A dominant intellectual or emotional environment or attitude: an atmosphere of distrust among the electorate. 5. The dominant tone or mood of a work of art. 6. An aesthetic quality or effect, especially a distinctive and pleasing one, associated with a particular place: a restaurant with an Old World atmosphere.

biome*

NOUN. A major regional or global biotic community, such as a grassland or desert, characterized chiefly by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate. -- one of the large ecosystems into which the earth's land surface can be divided; each is the climax community of a region with a particular climate:

biosphere*

NOUN. 1. The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life. 2. The living organisms and their environment composing the biosphere. -- the global ecosystem, composed of the earth's surface, its waters, atmosphere and all the living things it supports

carnivore*

NOUN. 1. A flesh-eating animal. 2. Any of various predatory, flesh-eating mammals of the order Carnivora, including the dogs, cats, bears, weasels, hyenas, and raccoons. 3. One who victimizes or injures others; a predator. 4. An insectivorous plant.

climate*

NOUN. 1. The meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region. 2. A region of the earth having particular meteorological conditions: lives in a cold climate. 3. A prevailing condition or set of attitudes in human affairs: a climate of unrest.

climax community**

A climax community is one that has reached the stable stage. When extensive and well defined, the climax community is called a biome. Examples are tundra, grassland, desert, and the deciduous, coniferous, and tropical rain forests. Stability is attained through a process known as succession, whereby relatively simple communities are replaced by those more complex. Thus, on a lakefront, grass may invade a build-up of sand. Humus formed by the grass then gives root to oaks and pines and lesser vegetation, which displaces the grass and forms a further altered humus. That soil eventually nourishes maple and beech trees, which gradually crowd out the pines and oaks and form a climax community. In addition to trees, each successive community harbors many other life forms, with the greatest diversity populating the climax community.

Similar ecological zonings occur among marine flora and fauna, dependent on such environmental factors as bottom composition, availability of light, and degree of salinity. In other respects, the capture by aquatic plants of solar energy and inorganic materials, as well as their transfer through food chains and cycling by means of microorganisms, parallels those processes on land.

The early 20th-century belief that the climax community could endure indefinitely is now rejected because climatic stability cannot be assumed over long periods of time. In addition nonclimatic factors, such as soil limitation, can influence the rate of development. It is clear that stable climax communities in most areas can coexist with human pressures on the ecosystem, such as deforestation, grazing, and urbanization. Polyclimax theories stress that plant development does not follow predictable outlines and that the evolution of ecosystems is subject to many variables. -- a community that remains virtually unchanged, as long as there are no climatic or environmental changes.

community*

NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. com·mu·ni·ties
1a. A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government. b. The district or locality in which such a group lives. 2a. A group of people having common interests: the scientific community; the international business community. b. A group viewed as forming a distinct segment of society: the gay community; the community of color. 3a. Similarity or identity: a community of interests. b. Sharing, participation, and fellowship. 4. Society as a whole; the public. 5. Ecology a. A group of plants and animals living and interacting with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental conditions. b. The region occupied by a group of interacting organisms. -- the plants and animals within a certain habitat

conifer*

NOUN. Any of various mostly needle-leaved or scale-leaved, chiefly evergreen, cone-bearing gymnospermous trees or shrubs such as pines, spruces, and firs. OTHER FORMS. co·nif er·ous -ADJECTIVE

coniferous forest

cold all year, dominated by forests of conifers (eg spruce and pine), deer and wolves.

Related term: Taiga:* NOUN. A subarctic, evergreen coniferous forest of northern Eurasia located just south of the tundra and dominated by firs and spruces.

consumer*

NOUN. 1. One that consumes, especially one that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing. 2. A heterotrophic organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.-- an organism that feeds on other organisms.

deciduous*

ADJECTIVE. 1. Falling off or shed at a specific season or stage of growth: deciduous antlers; deciduous leaves; deciduous teeth. 2. Shedding or losing foliage at the end of the growing season: deciduous trees. 3. Not lasting; ephemeral.

deciduous forest

warm summers, cold winters, mainly deciduous woodland (eg oak or beech), variety of animals

desert*

NOUN. 1. A barren or desolate area, especially: a. A dry, often sandy region of little rainfall, extreme temperatures, and sparse vegetation. b. A region of permanent cold that is largely or entirely devoid of life. c. An apparently lifeless area of water. 2. An empty or forsaken place; a wasteland: a cultural desert. 3. Archaic A wild, uncultivated, and uninhabited region.
ADJECTIVE. 1. Of, relating to, characteristic of, or inhabiting a desert: desert fauna. 2. Barren and uninhabited; desolate: a desert island. -- extremes of temperature, little rain, scarcity of life.

ecology*

NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. e·col·o·gies
1a. The science of the relationships between organisms and their environments. Also called bionomics. b. The relationship between organisms and their environment. 2. The branch of sociology that is concerned with studying the relationships between human groups and their physical and social environments. Also called human ecology. 3. The study of the detrimental effects of modern civilization on the environment, with a view toward prevention or reversal through conservation. Also called human ecology.
OTHER FORMS. ec o·log i·cal, ec o·log ic-ADJECTIVE
ec o·log i·cal·ly -ADVERB
e·col o·gist -NOUN
-- the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment

ecosystem*

NOUN. An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit. -- a community of organisms and their environment functioning as an ecological unit

energy*

NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. en·er·gies 1. The capacity for work or vigorous activity; vigor; power. See synonyms at strength. 2a. Exertion of vigor or power: a project requiring a great deal of time and energy. b. Vitality and intensity of expression: a speech delivered with energy and emotion. 3a. Usable heat or power: Each year Americans consume a high percentage of the world's energy. b. A source of usable power, such as petroleum or coal. 4. Physics The capacity of a physical system to do work.

environment*

NOUN. 1. The circumstances or conditions that surround one; surroundings. 2. The totality of circumstances surrounding an organism or group of organisms, especially: a. The combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, and survival of organisms: "We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism" (Paul Brooks). b. The complex of social and cultural conditions affecting the nature of an individual or community. 3. Computer Science a. The entire set of conditions under which one operates a computer, as it relates to the hardware, operating platform, or operating system. b. An area of a computer's memory used by the operating system and some programs to store certain variables to which they need frequent access.

extinction*

NOUN. 1a. The act of extinguishing. b. The condition of being extinguished. 2. The fact of being extinct or the process of becoming extinct: "The most effective agent in the extinction of species is the pressure of other species" (Alfred R. Wallace). 3. Psychology A reduction or a loss in the strength or rate of a conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus or reinforcement is withheld. 4. Physiology A gradual decrease in the excitability of a nerve to a previously adequate stimulus, usually resulting in total loss of excitability.

food chain*

NOUN. 1. A succession of organisms in an ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and in turn is preyed upon by a higher member. -- a series of organisms linked together in the order that they feed on each other.

food web*

NOUN. A complex of interrelated food chains in an ecological community. Also called food cycle. -- all of the interlinked food chains in a community or an ecosystem

gene(s)*

NOUN. A hereditary unit consisting of a sequence of DNA that occupies a specific location on a chromosome and determines a particular characteristic in an organism. Genes undergo mutation when their DNA sequence changes.

habitat

NOUN. 1. The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs: a marine habitat. 2. The place where a person or thing is most likely to be found. 3. A structure that affords a controlled environment for living in extremely inhospitable locations, such as an underwater research laboratory.

herbivore*

NOUN. An animal that feeds chiefly on plants.

hibernate*

INTRANSITIVE VERB. Inflected forms: hi·ber·nat·ed, hi·ber·nat·ing, hi·ber·nates To pass the winter in a dormant or torpid state. 2. To be in an inactive or dormant state or period.

OTHER FORMS. hi ber·na tion -NOUN; hi ber·na tor -NOUN.

indigenous*

ADJECTIVE. 1. Originating and living or occurring naturally in an area or environment. See synonyms at native. 2. Intrinsic; innate.

OTHER FORMS. in·dig e·nous·ly -ADVERB; in·dig e·nous·ness -NOUN.

irrigation**

in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. Estimates of total irrigated land in the world range from 543 to 618 million acres (220 to 250 million hectares), almost half of them in India, Pakistan, and China. The United States had almost 60 million acres (23.8 million hectares) of irrigated farmland in 1991. In many cases irrigation is correlated with drainage to avoid soil salinity, leaching, and waterlogging. Irrigation may also involve preliminary clearing, smoothing, and grading of land. Methods of applying water include free-flooding of entire areas from canals and ditches; check-flooding, in which water flows over strips or checks of land between levees, or ridges; the furrow method, in which water runs between crop or tree rows, penetrating laterally to the roots; the surface-pipe method, in which water flows in movable slip-joint pipes; sprinklers, including large-scale center-pivot and other self-propelled systems; and a variety of water-conserving drip and trickle systems. Since prehistoric times water has been diverted from waterways to fields by ditching. Early improvements for raising water included counterbalanced poles with attached water vessels, and adaptations of the wheel and of a pump called the Archimedes' screw. The use of canals, dams, weirs, and reservoirs for the distribution, control, and storage of water was probably initiated in ancient Egypt. In modern times pumps have facilitated the use of underground as well as surface water. Large-scale 20th-century irrigation projects commonly also include water supply, hydroelectric power, and flood control. Many regions, notably in China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India, have been under continuous irrigation from ancient times. Today China, India, the United States, and Pakistan rank highest in irrigated land. In North America, where most of the arid and semiarid land lies west of the 100th meridian, irrigation was first practiced in the Southwest by Native Americans and later by the Spanish, especially in California. As agriculture expanded, early irrigation initiatives by individual farmers or local groups were soon supplemented by commercial projects, until more ambitious water conservation and development schemes involved state and federal governments in vast projects. A drawback to intensive irrigation, especially in areas of high evaporation rates, is that excessive quantities of salts accumulate in the upper layers of the soil as water evaporates from the surface, rendering the soil unfit for crop production. See J. Keller and R. D. Bliesner, Sprinkle and Trickle Irrigation (1990); B. A. Stewart and D. R. Nelson, Irrigation of Agricultural Crops (1990); W. F. Ritter, ed., Irrigation and Drainage (1991).

layering*

VARIANT FORMS. also lay·er·age

NOUN. The process of rooting branches, twigs, or stems that are still attached to a parent plant, as by placing a specially treated part in moist soil.

maquis*

NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. maquis
1. A dense growth of small trees and shrubs in the Mediterranean area. 2. Maquis a. A member of the French underground organization that fought against the German occupation forces during World War II; a member of the Resistance. Also called Maquisard. b. This French underground organization. -- warm, wet winters, hot, dry summers, scrubland

omnivore*

NOUN. 1. An omnivorous person or animal. 2. One that takes in everything available, as with the mind. See omnivorous.

omnivorous*

ADJECTIVE. 1. Eating both animal and vegetable foods. 2. Taking in everything available, as with the mind: an omnivorous reader.

OTHER FORMS. om·niv o·rous·ly -ADVERB; om·niv o·rous·ness -NOUN.

organic*

ADJECTIVE. 1. Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms: organic matter. 2. Of, relating to, or affecting a bodily organ: an organic disease. 3a. Of, marked by, or involving the use of fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin: organic vegetables; an organic farm. b. Raised or conducted without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemicals: organic chicken; organic cattle farming. c. Serving organic food: an organic restaurant. d. Simple, healthful, and close to nature: an organic lifestyle. 4a. Having properties associated with living organisms. b. Resembling a living organism in organization or development; interconnected: society as an organic whole. 5. Constituting an integral part of a whole; fundamental. 6. Law Denoting or relating to the fundamental or constitutional laws and precepts of a government or an organization. 7. Chemistry Of or designating carbon compounds.

NOUN. 1. A substance, especially a fertilizer or pesticide, of animal or vegetable origin. 2. Chemistry An organic compound.

OTHER FORMS. or·gan i·cal·ly -ADVERB; or gan·ic i·ty -NOUN

organism*

NOUN. 1. An individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus; a body made up of organs, organelles, or other parts that work together to carry on the various processes of life. 2. A system regarded as analogous in its structure or functions to a living body: the social organism.

OTHER FORMS. or gan·is mal, or gan·is mic-ADJECTIVE; or gan·is mi·cal·ly-ADVERB.

parasite*

NOUN. 1. Biology An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host. 2a. One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return. b. One who lives off and flatters the rich; a sycophant. 3. A professional dinner guest, especially in ancient Greece.

parasitism*

NOUN. 1. The characteristic behavior or mode of existence of a parasite or parasitic population. 2. Parasitosis.

photosynthesis*

NOUN. The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.
OTHER FORMS. pho to·syn·thet ic-ADJECTIVE; pho to·syn·thet i·cal·ly-ADVERB.
-- the process by which plants use light energy trapped by chlorophyll to convert water and carbon dioxide into stored energy or food.

predator*

NOUN. 1. An organism that lives by preying on other organisms. 2. One that victimizes, plunders, or destroys, especially for one's own gain. -- an animal that hunts and kills another animal for food.

prey*

NOUN. 1. An animal hunted or caught for food; quarry. 2. One that is defenseless, especially in the face of attack; a victim. 3. The act or practice of preying.
INTRANSITIVE VERB. Inflected forms: preyed, prey·ing, preys
1. To hunt, catch, or eat as prey: Owls prey on mice. 2. To victimize or make a profit at someone else's expense. 3. To plunder or pillage. 4. To exert a baneful or injurious effect: Remorse preyed on his mind.
OTHER FORMS. prey er -NOUN.
-- an animal that is hunted by another animal, a predator

primary consumers*

NOUN. An animal that eats grass and other green plants in a food chain; an herbivore. -- animals that are the first ring of a food chain; herbivores.

producer(s)*

NOUN. 1. One that produces, especially a person or organization that produces goods or services for sale. 2. One who supervises and controls the finances, creation, and public presentation of a play, film, program, or similar work. 3. A furnace that manufactures producer gas. 4. Ecology A photosynthetic green plant or chemosynthetic bacterium, constituting the first trophic level in a food chain; an autotrophic organism.

resource(s)*

NOUN. 1. Something that can be used for support or help: The local library is a valuable resource. 2. An available supply that can be drawn on when needed. Often used in the plural. 3. The ability to deal with a difficult or troublesome situation effectively; initiative: a person of resource. 4. Means that can be used to cope with a difficult situation. Often used in the plural: needed all my intellectual resources for the exam. 5a. resources The total means available for economic and political development, such as mineral wealth, labor force, and armaments. b. resources The total means available to a company for increasing production or profit, including plant, labor, and raw material; assets. c. Such means considered individually.

Related term: Natural resources:* NOUN. A material source of wealth, such as timber, fresh water, or a mineral deposit, that occurs in a natural state and has economic value.

savanna or savannah**

tropical or subtropical grassland lying on the margin of the trade wind belts. The climate of a savanna is characterized by a rainy period during the summer when the area is covered by grasses, and by a dry winter when the grasses wither. Savannas near the equatorial belt, e.g., in Nigeria, support clumps of trees. The most extensive savannas-all important pasture lands-are in Africa; others include the llanos and the campos of South America. -- (tropical grassland)—hot with wet winters, open plains with trees, antelopes

scarcity*

NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. scar·ci·ties 1. Insufficiency of amount or supply; shortage: a scarcity of food that was caused by drought. 2. Rarity of appearance or occurrence: antiques that are valued for their scarcity.

scrubland*

NOUN. An area of land that is uncultivated and covered with sparse stunted vegetation.

secondary consumers*

NOUN. An animal that feeds on smaller plant-eating animals in a food chain.-- animals in the second level of the food chain which eat herbivores; carnivore.

species*

NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. species 1. Biology a. A fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding… b. An organism belonging to such a category, represented in binomial nomenclature by an uncapitalized Latin adjective or noun following a capitalized genus name, as in Ananas comosus, the pineapple, and Equus caballus, the horse. 2. Logic A class of individuals or objects grouped by virtue of their common attributes and assigned a common name; a division subordinate to a genus. 3a. A kind, variety, or type: "No species of performing artist is as self-critical as a dancer" (Susan Sontag). b. The human race; humankind. 4. Roman Catholic Church a. The outward appearance or form of the Eucharistic elements that is retained after their consecration. b. Either of the consecrated elements of the Eucharist. 5. Obsolete a. An outward form or appearance. b. Specie.

succession*

NOUN. 1. The act or process of following in order or sequence. 2. A group of people or things arranged or following in order; a sequence: "A succession of one-man stalls offered soft drinks" (Alec Waugh). See synonyms at series. 3a. The sequence in which one person after another succeeds to a title, throne, dignity, or estate. b. The right of a person or line of persons to so succeed. c. The person or line having such a right. 4a. The act or process of succeeding to the rights or duties of another. b. The act or process of becoming entitled as a legal beneficiary to the property of a deceased person. 5. Ecology The gradual and orderly process of ecosystem development brought about by changes in community composition and the production of a climax characteristic of a particular geographic region.

OTHER FORMS. suc·ces sion·al -ADJECTIVE; suc·ces sion·al·ly -ADVERB.

symbiosis*

NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. sym·bi·o·ses 1. Biology A close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member. 2. A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

OTHER FORMS. sym bi·ot ic, sym bi·ot i·cal-ADJECTIVE; sym bi·ot i·cal·ly -ADVERB.

temperate grassland

hot summers, cold winters, open grassy plains, buffalo

Related term: Prairie:* NOUN. An extensive area of flat or rolling, predominantly treeless grassland, especially the large tract or plain of central North America.
Related term: Steppe** … temperate grassland of Eurasia, consisting of level, generally treeless plains. It extends over the lower regions of the Danube and in a broad belt over S and SE European and Central Asian Russia, stretching E to the Altai and S to the Transbaykal and Manchurian plains. The term is sometimes applied to the corresponding temperate grasslands of Hungary (Puszta), the prairies of the United States, the pampas of South America, and the high veld of South Africa; it is sometimes also applied to the semiarid regions on the fringe of the hot deserts. The steppe consists of three vegetation zones with significant differences in climate-the wooded, or forest, steppe; the tillable steppe, or prairie; and the nontillable steppe. The wooded steppe has deciduous trees and the heaviest annual rainfall, over 16 in. (41 cm). The tillable steppe has black earth and an annual rainfall of between 10 and 15 in. (25-38 cm). The nontillable steppe is a semidesert, found especially around the Caspian Sea, with an annual rainfall of less than 10 in. (25 cm). There is some grazing, and its soils are relatively fertile under irrigation. Although the tillable steppe was originally grassland used almost exclusively for grazing, it is now almost entirely under cultivation. Some of the world's most productive agricultural areas, such as Ukraine and the U.S. wheat belt, are situated on the tillable steppe.

territory*

Territory:* NOUN. Inflected forms: pl. ter·ri·to·ries
1. An area of land; a region. 2. The land and waters under the jurisdiction of a government. 3a. A political subdivision of a country. b. A geographic region, such as a colonial possession, that is dependent on an external government: the territories of the Holy Roman Empire. 4. often Territory a. A subdivision of the United States that is not a state and is administered by an appointed or elected governor and elected legislature. b. A similarly organized political subdivision of Canada or Australia. 5. An area for which a person is responsible as a representative or agent: a salesperson's territory. 6. Sports The area of a field defended by a specified team: punted the ball deep into the opponent's territory. 7. Biology An area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group and often vigorously defended against intruders, especially those of the same species. 8. A sphere of action or interest; a province. See synonyms at field.
-- an area occupied by one or more organisms and defended against other organisms (especially of the same species).

tertiary consumers*

NOUN. An animal that feeds on secondary consumers in a food chain. -- the third level of the food chain consist of animals who eat herbivores and carnivores; carnivores or omnivores.

tropical forest

hot and wet, with a great diversity of life, (eg monkeys and exotic birds).

Related term: Cloud forest:* NOUN. A tropical forest, often near peaks of coastal mountains, that usually has constant cloud cover throughout the year.
Related term: Rain forest:* NOUN. A dense evergreen forest occupying a tropical region with an annual rainfall of at least 2.5 meters (100 inches).

tundra*

NOUN. A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs.-- very cold, windy and treeless, little animal life.

 

 

 

 

*The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Langauge: Fourth Edition 2000.

**The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.

Other definitions were written by the original CHICO and School of Education team members in 1997. Definitions preceded by a dash (--) and following Dictionary or Encyclopedia definitions were also written by the original team members.

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