Any muscle that moves one part of the body towards another or the middle line of the body.
BIVALVE:
A group of aquatic mollusks found enclosed within two shells i.e. clams, mussels, oysters.
CALCAREOUS:
Containing calcium carbonate (limestone).
CARNIVORE:
Animals and plants that eat flesh.
CARTILAGE (CARTILAGINOUS):
A dense connective tissue that forms the embryonic skeleton in mammals and makes up the whole skeleton of primitive vertebrates such as sharks.
CEPHALOPOD:
A group of mollusks that are marine invertebrates who swim using jet propulsion and are armed with tentacles i.e. octopus, squid.
CILIA:
Hair-like projections capable of a beating or waving motion.
CRUSTACEAN:
An aquatic animal with a jointed body, segmented limbs and a hard outer skeleton i.e. crab, lobster, shrimp.
DISSOLUTION:
Disintegration or decomposition; the breaking of chemical bonds.
EQUINOX:
When day and night are of equal length. Concerning the annual movement of the sun from north to south, it is when the sun is directly over the equator on March 21 and September 22. In the northern hemisphere, these are, respectively, the spring and autumnal equinoxes; and in the southern hemisphere, the autumnal and spring equinoxes.
EVOLUTION:
The gradual development of organisms, especially from simple to complex forms. This process was first publicized in 1859 by Charles Darwin in his book, 'The Origin of Species.'
FILAMENTOUS ALGAE:
Algae that forms a multi-celled, thread-like body.
FORAMINIFERA:
A group of single-celled animals with calcium shells that live at the bottom of the ocean (benthonic) or float on top of it (planktonic).
GASTRODERMAL:
The simple tissue that lines the digestive cavity of coelenterates - corals, jellyfish and sea anemones.
GASTROPOD:
A group of mollusks that move along using a large muscular foot i.e. slug, snail.
GEOSYNCLINE:
A downturn in the earth's crust that has slowly filled with sediments from the landmasses on either side as it slowly subsided over geologic time.
INVERTEBRATE:
Animal without a backbone.
LARVA:
An immature form of animals that undergo some change i.e. the stage of development in insects between an egg and a pupa.
LEE(WARD):
The side, or on the side, sheltered from the wind.
NEUROTOXIN:
A deadly poison that affects the central nervous system of an animal.
OROGRAPHIC RAINFALL:
Rain which is caused by mountains in the path of moisture-laden air. The air is forced to rise, and therefore cool. If there is sufficient water vapor present it will be deposited as rain on the high ground.
PECTORAL:
Relating to the chest.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
The process by which all green plants manufacture carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using energy absorbed from sunlight. Photosynthesis supplies, in some form, all plants and animals with the energy they need for metabolism.
PLANKTON:
Microscopic organisms that drift or float in water.
PRECIPITATE:
To deposit a substance in a solid form from solution.
SALINITY:
The degree of saltiness of lakes, oceans, rivers and seas, usually expressed in parts per thousand. The average salinity of sea water is 35 parts per thousand.
SILICA:
Silicon dioxide which occurs as quartz in many rocks and the main component of sandstone.
SUBSIDENCE:
Sinking or settling to a lower level that can be on the scale of a rift valley or the collapse of a cave roof.
SYMBIOSIS:
Interaction between two different organisms that are closely joined in physical contact, usually to the advantage of both.
TOPOGRAPHY:
The artificial and natural surface features of an area of land.
TROPICAL:
Of, or relating to, the region of the world that lies between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees south). Within this zone, the sun is directly overhead twice per year and is never very oblique to the earth. The weather is generally hot.
VERTEBRATE:
Animal with a backbone
WINNOW:
To separate or sort out i.e. to winnow chaff from grain.
ZOOXANTHELLAE:
A unicellular, microscopic organism having a tail that live in other microscopic organisms or invertebrates. They use the carbon dioxide and waste materials from their host in return for oxygen and food.
