Glossary of terms used on this site
There are 51 entries in this glossary.All
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Africa |
Africa is the second-largest continent, connected to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez and lying between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic and Indian oceans. |
| bioaccumulation |
Bioaccumulation is the process by which substances accumulate in the tissues of living organisms. This term is used to explain how toxic substances accumulate through a food chain. |
| biodegradable |
Something is biodegradable if it can decompose or break down safely and relatively quickly by biological means, usually with the aid of bacteria and other microorganisms. A biodegradable product breaks down into the raw materials of nature and disappears into the environment. |
| biomass |
Biomass is the total amount of living things in a region. (The temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest has a greater biomass per acre than any other place on earth.) |
| canopy |
The canopy is the layer of rainforest made up of the tops of the tallest trees: Coastal Redwood, Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar, and Western Hemlock. |
| carnivore |
A carnivore is an animal that only eats meat. |
| cetacean |
Cetaceans are mammals best adapted for aquatic life. They include whales, dolphins, and porpoises. |
| conifer |
Conifer trees are cone-bearing evergreen trees with needles. |
| coniferous forest |
Coniferous forests are made up mainly of cone-bearing or coniferous trees, such as spruces, hemlocks, pines and firs. The leaves of these trees are either small and needle-like and most stay green all year. |
| decomposer |
Decomposers are microscopic fungi and bacteria that feed directly on dead matter, breaking it down. |
| dinar |
Currency used in Algeria and Tunisia. 1 US dollar is equal to about 72 Algerian dinars and about 1.30 Tunisian dinars. Whose currency is stronger? Algeria or Tunisia? |
| dorsal fin |
A dorsal fin is a fin found on the back of fish and some marine mammals. |
| ebb tide |
Ebb tide happens when the tide is lowering and water is flowing back out to sea. |
| echolocation |
Echolocation is a way for animals to use sound to locate things. Basically, the animal makes a sound and then listens for the echo to determine how far away an object is. Most whales, dolphins, and bats use echolocation to find their prey. |
| ecosystem |
An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals, and the environment they live in. |

Concept Diagram