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Emma Goodwin
SEADISC
1/4/13
Glossary: Ohlone Tiger Beetle
Endangered Species Project
Bequest value: people are willing pay to protect some forms of natural capital for use by
future generations. [Do you want polar bears to be alive for your great-grandchildren?]
California Endangered Species Act – first passed in 1984, provides blanket protection
for all endangered or threatened species in the state
California Environmental Quality Act – passed in 1970, states that agencies and
businesses must identify their environmental impacts and work to minimize them
Climate – the general pattern of atmospheric or weather conditions in an area over a long
period of time
Coastal Terrace Grassland: grasslands located on cliffs overlooking the ocean.
Community – all of the populations of different species that live in the same place
Decomposition: Breaking down organic material, such as dead plant or animal tissue,
into smaller molecules that are available for use by the organisms of an ecosystem.
Ecological Value: Vital component of the key ecosystem functions of energy flow,
nutrient cycling, and population control.
Ecosystem: One or more communities of different species interacting with one another
and with the chemical and physical factors making up their non-living environment.
Endangered species – a species that has so few individuals surviving that the species
could soon become extinct over all or most of its natural range
Endemic: species that is found in only one area. Such species are especially vulnerable
to extinction.
Energy cycling: Cycling of energy through ecosystems in food chains and food webs. \
Food chain – a sequence of organisms, where each one is the food for the next
Food web – found in an ecosystem, made up of interconnected food chains
Forage – can either refer to the action of eating small grasses, or the grasses themselves
Habitat – the place where an individual or population normally lives, can vary in size
Human impact zone: Human activity on a natural habitat.
Indicator species: species that serve as early warnings that a community or ecosystem is
being degraded. (Ex: presence or absence of trout species in water at temperatures within
their range of tolerance is an indicator of water quality because they need clean water
with high levels of dissolved oxygen.)
Interference with people’s activities: Animal is injured or killed if in human’s way. Ex:
poisoned, shot, harassed.
Intrinsic [existence] value: inherent right to exist and play its ecological roles,
regardless of its usefulness to us. [we have an ethical responsibility to protect species
from becoming prematurely extinct as a result of human activities]
Invasive: species that migrate into or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an
ecosystem (non-native, alien, exotic)
Keystone species – important species in an ecosystem because they affect what types and
how many of other species are present
Larval tunnels – exist in the Earth and are created by the beetle larvae as they crawl
towards the surface
Native: species that normally live and thrive in a particular ecosystem.
Native coastal grasslands – also known as the California coastal prairie, it is the most
species rich type of grassland in North America
Nutrient cycling: The circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment
(mostly from soil and water) through organisms and back to the environment.
Pollinating: The process by which plant pollen is transferred from the male reproductive
organs to the female reproductive organs to form seeds.
Population: a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same place at the
same time.
Population Control: control over the growth of a population [predatory- prey
relationships]
Population crashes – the number of organisms in a population is dramatically reduced
over a short period of time
Restricted range – habitat is small, constricted by some outside force; species with
limited range are often vulnerable to habitat destruction: with habitat destruction,
population drops
Soil aeration: The process by which atmospheric air enters the soil.
Soil richness – amount of nutrients and minerals present in the soil
Species distribution – the manner in which organisms in a species are spread out over
the land, it is a synonym of the term species range
Specific nesting requirements: Animal can only nest in one type of structure; the
structure can be easily compromised.
Terrestrial ecosystem – any ecosystem found on a landform
Thermoregulation – the ability of an organism to control it’s own internal body
temperature regardless of the temperature of the external environment
United States Fish & Wildlife Service – a federal government agency that is a part of
the Department of the Interior, in charge of management of fish, wildlife, and natural
habitats