Acreage - noun. an area of land, typically when used for agricultural purposes, but not necessarily measured in acres

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Adaptation - noun. the action or process of adapting or being adapted

 

Altruistic - adjective. having or showing an unselfish concern for the welfare of others

Aquaculture -  noun. the rearing of aquatic animals or the cultivation of aquatic plants for food

Aquatic - adjective. Relating to water

Biome - noun. a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g. forest or tundra

Biosphere - noun. the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms

 

Biotic Potential - noun. the inherent capacity of an organism or species to reproduce and survive

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Bycatch - noun. the portion of a commercial fishing catch that consists of marine animals caught unintentionally

 

Calamitous - adjective. involving calamity; catastrophic or disastrous

Clean Energy - noun. energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat

Clear Cutting - verb. cut down and remove every tree from (an area)

Coastal Zone - noun. warm, nutrient-rich, shallow part of the ocean that extends from the high tide mark on land to the edge of a shelf-like extension of continental landmasses known as the continental shelf

Conservation - Sensible and careful use of natural resources by humans

 

Crown Fire - noun. a forest fire that advances often at great speed from crown to crown often well in advance of the fire on the ground

Deforestation - noun. the action of clearing a wide area of trees

Degradation - noun. the condition or process of degrading or being degraded

 

Detrimental - adjective. obviously harmful; damaging

Drift-Net Fishing - verb. Drift netting is a fishing technique where nets, called drift nets, hang vertically in the water column without being anchored to the bottom

Ecological Sustainability - based on a long-term perspective, we conserve the productivity of the waters, the soil and the ecosystem, and reduce our impact on the natural environment and people's health to a level that the natural environment and humanity can handle

Ecology - noun. the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings

Ecosystem - noun. a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment

Endangered Species - noun. a species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct in the near future

Environment - noun. the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity

Erosion - noun. the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents

Excrement - noun. waste matter discharged from the bowels; feces

Extinct - noun. the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct

Fertilize - verb. make (soil or land) more fertile or productive by adding suitable substances to it

Gestation Period - Fetal development period from the time of conception until birth

Habitat - noun. the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism

 

Hyperthermia - noun. the condition of having a body temperature greatly above normal

 

Hypothermia - noun. the condition of having dangerously subnormal temperatures of the body

Indicator Species - noun. any species or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment

 

Ineffable - adjective. too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.

Invasive Species - a species whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health

Keystone Species - noun. a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically

Molt - verb. (of an animal) shed old feathers, hair, or skin, or an old shell, to make way for a new growth or noun. a loss of plumage, skin, or hair, especially as a regular feature of an animal's life cycle

Niche - noun. the position of a species within an ecosystem, describing both the range of conditions necessary for persistence of the species, and its ecological role in the ecosystem

Old-Growth Forest - noun. (also termed primary forest, virgin forest, primeval forest, late seral forest, or forest primeval)  a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance and thereby exhibits unique ecological features and might be classified as a climax community

Overfishing - verb. Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish from a body of water at a rate that the species cannot replenish in time, resulting in those species either becoming depleted or very underpopulated in that given area

 

R-Strategist Species - noun. a species that emphasizes high growth rates, typically exploits less-crowded ecological niches, and produces many offspring, each of which has a relatively low probability of surviving to adulthood.

Selective Cutting - verb. cutting down of selected trees in a forest so that growth of other trees is not affected. This is done according to criteria regarding minimum tree size for harvesting, specifications of the number, spacing and size classes of residual trees per area, and allowable cut

Strip Cutting - verb. a clearcutting system variation in which the logging operation removes all merchantable timber from areas that run through a stand and are usually of a width equal to one or two times the general stand height

 

Surreal - adjective. very strange or unusual; having the quality of a dream

Terrestrial - adjective. of, on, or relating to the earth