Download Glossary - Nature NB

Glossary of Terms
Alien species – refers to a species that did not originally occur in an area where it
is now established, but which arrived as a direct or indirect result of human activity
(Canadian Nature Federation - CNF)
Biodiversity – is short for biological diversity. It refers to the variety of species, the
genetic variability of each species, and the variety of different ecosystems. (CNF)
Biological Community – an association of different populations of organisms in a
particular environment within a geographic area. (Science Power 7)
COSEWIC – stands for the Committee On the Status of Endangered Wildlife
in Canada. This is a national committee made up of government and nongovernment members that designate the status of species in Canada. (COSEWIC)
Carnivore – an animal that eats other animals; examples are lynx, falcon and owl.
(Science Power 7)
Consumer – an organism that eats the food made by producers; can be either
herbivorous or carnivorous. (Science Power 7)
Decomposer – an organism that breaks down the cells of dead or waste materials
and absorbs their nutrients; many bacteria and fungi are decomposers. (Science
Power 7)
Ecosystem – all the interacting parts of a biological community and its
environment; including the abiotic and biotic elements. (Science Power 7)
Endangered (Canada) – a species facing imminent extirpation or extinction in
Canada. (COSEWIC)
Endangered (New Brunswick) – a species facing imminent extirpation or
extinction in New Brunswick.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) – an assessment tool to examine the
impact of a proposed project on the environment. (NB Federation of Naturalists)
Extinct – a species that no longer exists anywhere in the world. (CNF)
Extirpated (Canada) – a species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but
existing elsewhere.
Extirpated (New Brunswick) - a species no longer existing in the wild in New
Brunswick, but existing elsewhere. (COSEWIC)
Food Chain – a sequence of feeding relationships among living organisms, as they
pass on food energy. (Science Power 7)
Food Web – the network of feeding relationships among organisms. (Science
Power 7)
Fledging Success – the number of young from a nest surviving to the stage where
they can fly. (Piper Project/Projet siffleur)
Habitat – the location where an organism lives. (Science Power 7)
Herbivore – an animal that eats only plant material; examples are grasshoppers,
deer, and beaver. (Science Power 7)
Omnivore – an animal that eats both plants and animals; examples are the
leatherback turtle and the black bear. (CNF)
Over-exploitation – the human over-consumption of a species, or over-use of its
habitat. (CNF)
Population – a group of organisms of the same species found in a particular
geographic area. (Science Power 7)
Predator – an organism that catches and eats other organisms of a different
species. (Science Power 7)
Prey – an organism that is caught and eaten by another organism of a different
species. (Science Power 7)
Producer – those organisms that photosynthesize and store more energy in food
than they consume. (Science Power 7)
Recovery – to re-establish healthy populations of species that are listed as “at risk”.
(CNF)
Recovery Teams – teams of resource managers, biologists and stakeholders that
create a recovery plan that describes the steps needed to recover a species from
the Species-at-Risk list. (NBDNR&E)
Special Concern – a species of special concern because of characteristics that
make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. (COSEWIC)
Species – a distinct type of organism, and one of the main levels of categories in
the classification system. (CNF)
Species-at-Risk – is a species that is at risk of disappearing or becoming extinct in
the near future. (COSEWIC)
Threatened – a species likely to become endangered in Canada, if limiting factors
are not reversed. (COSEWIC)
Wildlife – all wild mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, plants,
fungi, algae, bacteria and other wild organisms. (CNF)