THE BOLSON TORTOISE  

Agricultural Land:  Typically land devoted to agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of life—particularly the rearing of livestock and production of crops—to produce food for humans.

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Aquifers: A body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater.

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Biodiversity: The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

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Biodiversity Hotspot: A region with high biodiversity and many species that are endemic to that area, causing it to be extremely vulnerable to destruction (National Geographic Society, 2019). 

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Capitalism: An inherently expansionary system driven by a demand for continual growth in order to overcome the cyclical stagnation that afflicts it.  

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CITES: Convention on international trade in endangered species, a law that was signed by 183 parties in 1975 to make sure that the trade of species does not affect their endangerment (“Convention on International…”, n.d.). 

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Critically Endangered: The species has a very high risk of becoming extinct in the near future (The IUCN Red List…, n.d.). 

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Deforestation:  The removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use.

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Ecotourism: Tourism fueled by the desire to see a certain part of nature, attempted to be done in a sustainable way for the local ecosystem and community (What is Ecotourism?, n.d.). 

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Endemic: A species that is native to a specific place or habitat (Biology Online, 2021). 

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Environmental Sex Determination (ESD):  The establishment of sex by a non-genetic cue, such as nutrient availability, experienced within a discrete period after fertilization. 

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Exploitation: The action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work.

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Extinction: No individuals of the species are alive on earth (The IUCN Red List…, n.d.). 

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Federally Subsidized:  Financial grants extended by the government to private institutions or other public entities, in order to stimulate economic activity or promote activities that are in the public good. 

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Genetic Diversity: The variation between genes of animals in the same species (Gorsuch, n.d.). 

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Gestation Period: The time between conception and birth, during which the embryo or fetus is developing in the uterus.

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Habitat: An environment where an organism lives throughout the year or for shorter periods of time to find a mate. 

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Habitat Fragmentation: When a large expanse of habitat is split up into many smaller areas of habitat, usually due to human activities and development. This can have detrimental effects on species in that habitat (Rogan et al, 2018).  

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Halophytic grass (Hilaria mutica):  Species of grass known by the common name tobosa, or tobosa grass. It is native to Northern Mexico, and the Southwestern United States, in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

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HIPPCO: The greatest threats to biodiversity: Habitat Loss, Fragmentation, and destruction; Invasive Species; Population Growth; Pollution; Climate CHange; Overexploitation. 

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Indicator species: A species who is sensitive to environmental conditions and serves as an indicator for changes in the ecosystem (“Indicator Species”, n.d.). 

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Invasive plants: A plant species that is not native to an environment, and competes for the resources of the natives which causes the decline of native species. They are often more able to survive because there is a lack of predators (“Invasive Plants”, n.d.). 

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IUCN Red List: A list of species and their status of endangerment, with information about recovery plans and population size (The IUCN Red List…, n.d.). 

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Migrate: Move from one region or habitat to another according to the seasons.

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Nutrient cycling:  Nutrient cycling implies by definition that nutrients pass among different components of a cell, community, or ecosystem and can be cycled and reutilized by some of these components.

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Pleistocene Age: Noting or pertaining to the epoch forming the earlier half of the Quaternary Period, beginning about two million years ago and ending 10,000 years ago, characterized by widespread glacial ice and the advent of modern humans.

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Reproduce:  The biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents.

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Socioeconomic: relating to or concerned with the interaction of social and economic factors (Socioeconomic, n.d.). 

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Species: A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. 

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Species Diversity: The variation between individuals in a species (Gorsuch, n.d.). 

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Terrestrial: An inhabitant of the earth.

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Urbanization: Refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change.

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Vulnerable: A species with a risk of becoming extinct in the wild (The IUCN Red List…, n.d.).