Science Glossary Pages

Endangered species: selected 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.