Glossary of Terms

biologist:

a person who studies living organisms and their relationship to one another.

captive:

not wild; not living in its natural habitat.

ecosystem:

all living things and their environment, in an area of any size, linked together by energy and nutrient flow.

endangered:

a species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or most of its range.

extinct:

no longer in existence.

habitat:

the arrangement of food, water, shelter, and space necessary for a species' survival.

illegal killing:

illegal killing or collection of plants or animals.

migration:

seasonal movements from one region to another.

natural diversity:

the wide variety of living things that make up an ecosystem.

refuge:

an area set aside for the purpose of conserving species and their habitat.

reintroduction:

a wildlife management technique used to place species back into an area where they had disappeared or become dangerously low in numbers.

old growth forest:

an undisturbed forest with trees that are more than 200 years old. It is characterized by fallen trees, trees with broken tops, and mature and dying trees.

pesticides:

chemicals used to control populations of species that are believed to be harmful to human beings or human activities.

predator:

an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals for food.

prey:

an animal that is killed and eaten by other animals.

species:

a population of individuals that are more or less alike, and that breed and produce fertile offspring under natural conditions.

threatened:

a species likely to become endangered if it is not protected.

wetlands:

any land area that tends to be regularly wet or flooded.