Glossary
Ambatotsirongorongo: a mountain chain in southern Madagascar.
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Alien Species: organisms that are non-native to a habitat that can cause economic and environmental harm.
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Biodiversity: Biodiversity is the biological variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.
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Biome: a large, naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat
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Canopy: the above-ground portion of a plant cropping or crop; formed by the collection of individual plant crowns.
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Carbon footprint: the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions a person, event, service, or place generates through their actions.
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Critically Endangered: A species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
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Deforestation: Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stands of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve the conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use.
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Degradation: the process of being degraded.
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Detrimental: to cause damage or injury.
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Ecology: the study of relationships between living organisms.
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Eco-Tourism Guides: work with environmentally-conscious travelers to educate them on specific topics and need to know to keep the wildlife where they are visiting undisturbed.
Ecosystem: a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
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Environment: the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
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Erosion: the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents
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Extinct: a species of plant or animal that no longer exists and contains no living organisms.
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Fragmentation: The process or state of breaking or being broken into small or separate parts.
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Genetic Diversity: a range of different inherited traits within a species.
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Genus: a type of biological classification.
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Governance: the action or manner of governing.
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Habitat: an environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows.
Island Endemic: Endemic is a biogeographic term referring to a distinct race or species that originated in a local place or region, and that has a geographically restricted distribution.
Keystone Species: an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem.
Littoral Zone: it is a zone that is part of the sea, lake or river or is close to the shore.
Logging: the business of cutting trees down and preparing them to be timber.
Organisms: an individual animal, plant, or single-celled organism.
Overexploitation: the unsustainable use of natural resources at a higher rate than the plants and animals can reproduce.
Population: all inhabitants of a particular town area or country.
Precipitation: the product of atmospheric water pressure that falls from the gravitational pull of clouds.
Predators: an animal that naturally preys on others.
Reproduction: a biological process where new offspring (babies) are produced from their parents.
Species: a basic unit of classification that consists of organisms that are genetically similar and can produce fertile offspring
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Sustainability: the ability to continuously endure a way of life in various domains over time.
Urbanization: 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.