Prepared by Melanie Walker.
Altitude: how high an area is above sea level.
Appearance: what a plant or animal looks like.
Arid: an area of land that is very hot and gets very little
rain or snow. A desert is an arid place.
Biological control: a way to get rid of insect pests,
like aphids, by using natural things, like predatory bugs.
Biome: a large area such as a desert, forest, grasslands
or wetlands.
Blue List: a list of plant and animal species created
by wildlife biologists. Species on this list are not in trouble right
now, but could become endangered if humans are not careful.
Burrow: a hole in the ground that is a shelter and a home
for animals like jackrabbits, foxes and burrowing owls.
Camouflage: the special markings that an animal uses to
hide from its enemies.
Carnivore: an animal that eats only meat.
Conservation: protecting the environment, especially wildlife
habitats and natural ecosystems.
Ecosystem: a group of plants and animals that rely on
each other to survive.
Endangered: an animal or plant species that has very few
of its type left in the world.
Environment: surrounding conditions which affect the plants
and animals living in a place.
Extinct: a plant or animal species that does not exist
any more.
Extirpated: the loss of a plant or animal species from
part of the area it used to inhabit.
Food Chain: plants or animals that serve as food for another.
A food chain can have many things in it -- grass gets eaten by a cow,
then the cow gets eaten by humans.
Habitat: the environment which provides food, shelter
and space for a plant or animal species.
Herbivore: an animal that eats only plants.
Hypothesis: a smart guess at why something is happening.
This guess is based on information you already know.
Omnivore: an animal species that eats both plants and
animals.
Organisms: living creatures, like plants or animals.
Pesticides: chemicals used by people to kill pests such
as insects.
Predator: an animal that eats other animals for food.
Prey: a creature that is hunted and eaten by a larger
creature. Worms are prey for birds.
Red List: a list of plant and animal species created by
wildlife biologists. Species on this list are endangered and may become
extinct if humans do not help them to survive.
Reintroduction: putting endangered animals back into places
where they used to live.
Shelter: a place to hide from danger and bad weather.
A shelter is a home.
Species: a group of plants or animals that look and act
the same. They live in similar places and reproduce their kind.
Status: the importance of one species compared with another.
Territory: an area of land that a creature lives in and
defends.
Threatened: a plant or animal species that is in danger
of becoming extinct.
Toxin: any substance which can kill an animal or plant or
make it sick.
Unique: an animal or plant that is different than all
others.
Wetlands: an area of land that has lots of marshes, ponds
and rivers.
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