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Wetlands Are Wonderous
H O M E



  • biodiversity -the variety of all of the organisms which make up the communities within particular habitats and the physical condition under which they exist.
  • biology -the science of life and of living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution. It includes botany and zoology and all their subdivisions.
  • biome - a major ecological community of organisms determined by interaction between the substrate, climate, and organisms.
  • biosphere - the area of the Earth's surface and its immediate atmosphere that is occupied by living organisms.
  • community - a naturally occurring group of different species that live together and interact as a self-contained unit.
  • consumers - organisms that consume (eat) other organisms.
  • ecology - the study of living organisms in relation to their environment.
  • ecosystem - a system that includes all of the organisms and the environment in which they naturally occur.
  • endangered species - a species that is in imminent danger of extinction throughout all or the majority of its range.
  • exotic, alien, invader, non-native, nonindigenous species - a species that has been introduced into an area beyond its native range. Invasions can result in losses of native species, changes in community structure and function, and alterations of the physical structure of the system.
  • flagship (charismatic) species - a species that elicits a positive emotional response and protective reaction from people.
  • food web - all relationships and interconnections between the different species of a community.
  • indicator species - a species that is used as a gauge for conditions of a specific habitat, community, or ecosystem.
  • keystone species - a species that has a larger impact on its community or ecosystem than would be expected from its abundance.
  • limnology - the study of lakes.
  • mutualistic species - two or more species that benefit from a specific and often highly coevolved interaction.
  • niche - the total characteristics that determine the position of an organism within its ecosystem.
  • population - the total number of individuals of a species inhabiting a particular area.
  • producers - organisms that produce their own organic material (food). They form the basis of the food web.
  • succession - the progression from initial colonization of an area by a species to the climax community.
  • threatened species - a species that is likely to become endangered within the near future throughout all or the majority of its range.
  • vulnerable species - a species with a small population, a species having a fragmented habitat in which individual populations are extremely isolated and the species has poor dispersal power, a species with a narrow or highly specialized niche, or a species which is particularly vulnerable to human activities.
  • watershed - the total geographic area bounded peripherally by a water parting and draining to a water course or body of water.