- physical or behavioral traits that help plants and animals survive in their environment and that are passed on genetically to subsequent generations.
B
bacteria
- one-celled organisms that live everywhere on Earth, with some being harmless, some beneficial, and others dangerous and even deadly.
biomimicry
- the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on plant and animal parts and processes.
blubber
- a thick layer of fat under the skin of sea mammals.
C
camouflage
- a color or shape in an animal's body covering that helps it blend into its environment.
cells
- the very small units that make up all living things, specialized to do different jobs.
characteristic
- a feature or trait that describes an organism and that makes a species or individual different from others.
climate change
- The current tendency of our earth toward higher temperatures and rapid warming.
courtship
- the process of attracting a mate.
D
defensive
- an action intended to protect from harm or resist attack.
dispersal
- moving out from one geographic area to another and not returning.
diversity
- a great variety of different forms or types.
dormant
- a period of greatly reduced or suspended biological activity or growth.
E
echolocation
- the ability of some animals to use reflected sound for locating food and for navigation.
ecosystem
- a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment.
extinct
- no longer living.
G
generations
- steps in a line from ancestors to their descendants. Parent-to-child is one generation.
genes
- units of heredity contained in living cells that carry instructions that determine specific traits.
H
habitat
- the place where an animal lives.
hibernate
- To be dormant or inactive. Normal body activities slow down.
I
Industrial Revolution
- A period of major change in the way products were made; the transition from products made by hand to products manufactured by machines powered by engines.
infrared detection
- the ability to sense as heat a type of energy coming from living things.
inherit
- to receive a trait passed on from a parent organism to its offspring.
instinct
- behaviors that animals are born knowing how to do.
L
learned behavior
- a behavior that is learned by experience, not instinctual or passed down to offspring.
lichen
- small, plantlike living things made up of an alga and a fungus growing together on a solid surface, such as a rock or a tree.
M
marine
- having to do with the ocean.
migration
- seasonal movement of a group of animals from one place to another.
mimicry
- an adaptation in which an animal imitates another animal or object in order to avoid predators. Examples are a harmless animal that looks like a harmful one, or an animal that looks like a non-food item.
N
natural selection
- the process by which plants and animals that can adapt to their environment are able to survive and reproduce, while those that cannot adapt do not survive.
niche
- the job or part that a particular living thing plays in an ecological community.
nocturnal
- an animal that is most active at night.
O
offspring
- the children or young of an animal or plant.
P
phototropism
- movement of a plant toward light.
physiological
- having to do with the way living things function.
predator
- an animal that hunts and eats other animals for food.
prey
- an animal that is taken and eaten by another animal for food.
S
scales
- fish and reptile skin layered in smaller sections, providing strong protection.
scavenger
- an animal that eats dead or decaying matter.
streamlined
- shaped to increase speed of movement and to reduce air or water resistance.
T
talons
- sharp claws of a bird.
thrive
- not only surviving, but growing to adulthood in good health and reproducing.
toxic
- containing poisonous substances.
traits
- features or characteristics of a species or organism.
V
venom
- poison produced by an animal.
W
water resistance
- the force or drag that slows things down that are moving through water.
