Bequest Value - A species' value based on humans' willingness to pay to protect them in order to pass on their benefits to future generations.

 

Biotic Potential- The maximum rate at which the population of a given species can increase when there are no limits on its rate of growth. 

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Bottom trawling- For this method of fishing, large, weighted nets are dragged across the ocean floor, clear-cutting an area of ocean floor habitat.

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Climate change- A long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Often climate change refers specifically to the rise in global temperatures from the mid 20th century to the present. 

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Commercial fishing- The act of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. 

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Critically endangered- A species that is at a very high risk of extinction in the wild. 

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Ecological footprint- A measure of the average environmental impact of populations in different countries and areas. 

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Economy- A system of production, distribution and consumption of economic goods.  

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Ecosystem- One or more communities of different species interacting with one another and with the chemical and physical factors making up their nonliving environment. 

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Endangered species- A wild species with so few individual survivors that the species could soon become extinct in all or most of its natural range. 

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Environment- All external conditions, factors, matter and energy, living and nonliving, that affect any living organism or other specified system.  

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Fishery- Concentration of a particular aquatic species suitable for commercial harvesting in a given ocean area or inland body of water.  

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Food chain- A series of organisms in which each eats or decomposes the preceding one.

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Food web- Complex network of many interconnected food chains and feeding relationships.

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Habitat- Place or type of place where it an organism or population of organisms lives. 

 

HIPPCO- An acronym used for the six most important secondary causes of premature extinction. 

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Human Caused- A disaster or setback (ex. climate change) that occurred because of human actions. 

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Instrumental value- The value of a species based on its usefulness to the human race.

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Intertidal habitat/ zone- The area of shoreline between low and high tides.

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Intrinsic value - The value of a species based solely on its existence, not related to its effect on humans or other species.

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Invasive species- Species that migrate into an ecosystem or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans. 

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Larvae- The active immature form of an insect, especially one that differs greatly from the adult and forms the stage between egg and pupa, e.g. a caterpillar or grub.

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Mercantile- Relating to trade or commerce; commercial.

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Niche/ecological niche- The roll of a species in an ecosystem. It includes all physical, chemical and biological conditions that a species needs to live and reproduce in an ecosystem. 

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Overexploitation- To make use of something, such as a natural resource, to an excessive degree. 

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Overfishing- Harvesting so many fish of a species, especially immature individuals, that not enough breeding stock is left to replenish the species and it becomes unprofitable to harvest them.

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Pescatarian- One whose diet includes fish but no other meat. 

 

Pollution- Undesirable change in the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of air, water, soil or food that can adversely affect the health, survival, or activities of humans or other living organisms.  

 

Population- A group of individual organisms of the same species living in a particular area. 

 

Puget Sound- An area of land located in the North- West area of the United States (mostly Washington state) and stretches south for about 100 miles from Admiralty Inlet and Whidbey Island. 

 

Predator- An organism that captures and feeds on some or all parts of an organism of another species (the prey). 

 

Prey- An organism that is killed by an organism of another species (the predator) and serves as its source of food.  

 

Recovery- A return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.

 

Rehabilitate- To restore to a former capacity. 

 

Renewable resources- A resource that can be replenished rapidly through natural processes as long as it’s not used up faster than it is replaced. (ex: trees in forest)

 

Reproduce- Production of offspring by one or more parents. 

 

Rockfish- Various fishes that live among rocks or on rocky bottoms. 

 

Species- A set of individuals that can mate and produce fertile offspring. Each and every organism is a part of a certain species.

 

Species richness- A variety of species, measured by the number of different species contained in a community.

 

Sustainability- Ability of earth’s various systems, including human cultural systems and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.