School and Group Programs
Vocabulary List
Our vocabulary terms are grouped by our program's areas of study, as well as general ecology and stewardship terms:
Areas of Study Vocabulary:
- Marine science
- Terrestrial biology
- Watersheds
- Earth and physical sciences
- Marin Headlands cultural history
General Vocabulary:
View all vocabulary lists as a printable PDF.
Marine Science
View marine science vocabulary as a printable PDF.
Abyss: the bottom zone of the oceans at depths between 4,000 and 6,000 meters
Adaptation: a change in body part or behavior, usually inherited, that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment
Aerobic: the condition in which oxygen is present
Air bladder: a cavity filled with gases found in fish or plants that helps regulate flotation
Algae: simple, usually aquatic, plants without true roots, stems, or leaves
Anaerobic: the condition where oxygen is absent
Aquatic: living within or on water
Baleen: a comb-like material that grows on the upper jaws of some whales instead of teeth; used to strain food
Benthic: the area of the sea bottom or organisms that live on the sea bottom
Buoyancy: the ability to float
Byssal threads: the material that mussels create to anchor themselves to rocks
Camouflage: the ability of an animal to blend in with its surroundings; be hidden while in plain sight
Counter shading: a coloring scheme in which animals are dark green or blue on their top surface and white or silver below
Desiccation: the process of losing water (i.e. drying out)
Endangered: to be threatened with extinction, as in “an endangered species”
Estuary: a body of water where freshwater and salt water meet and mix
Exoskeleton: a hard supporting or protective structure on the outside of the body (e.g. the shell of a crab)
Grazers: animals that feed on plants or non-moving animals
Holdfast: in kelp, the part of the plant that holds it to the bottom
Holoplankton: planktonic organisms that spend their entire lives as plankton
Invertebrate: any organism that does not have a backbone
Kelp: a variety of large brown seaweed
Keystone species: a species, usually a predator, that has a major influence on the other species population of the community
Littoral zone: the intertidal zone, an area lying between the extremes of high and lo
w tide
Marine mammal: a mammal that spends the majority of its life in and near the ocean (e.g. whales, seals, polar bears)
Meroplankton: planktonic organisms that spend only part of their lives as plankton
Nekton: organisms swimming actively in water (e.g. fish); the opposite of plankton
Nematocyst: an organ consisting of a tiny capsule containing an
ejectable thread that causes a sting; the stinging cells of jellyfish,
anemones, and coral
Operculum: a body part or organ that serves as a lid or cover to protect gills in fish or to allow snails to seal themselves in their shell
Pelagic: the area of open water of the world's oceans; organisms that occur in the water column
Photic zone: the area of ocean where sunlight can penetrate; the layer of a water body where photosynthesis can occur
Phytoplankton: microscopic plants in bodies of water; the base of the ocean food chain
Plankton: organisms that are unable to swim against the force of waves
or wind and instead rely on these forces to move them; the opposite of
nekton
Radula: the rough, tooth-like tongue of snails or other mollusks
Rookery: the place where a group of animals (usually birds) nests, breeds, or raise their young
Salinity: the total amount of dissolved salt in water
Territory: an area occupied and protected by a an individual in a species against others of its own species
Tide: the rise and fall of the level of the ocean due to gravitational pulls and the rotation of the earth
Tide pool: an area where a pool of water is trapped during low tide
Upwelling: the rising of cold, nutrient rich water from the deeper areas of the ocean to the surface
Vertebrate: any organism that has a spine or vertebral column
Vocalization: the formation and utterance of sounds
Wave impact: the point at which a wave hits the shore; the force of a wave hitting the shore
Zonation: distinct plant and animal associations, recognizable as horizontal bands along the habitat that divide the habitats
Zooplankton: planktonic animals
Terrestrial Biology
View terrestrial biology vocabulary as a printable PDF.
Adaptation: a change in body part or behavior, usually inherited, that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment
Amphibian: any of a class of cold-blooded animals (such as frogs and newts) with backbones that can live on land and in water
Camouflage: the ability of an animal to blend in with its surroundings; to be hidden while in plain sight
Carnivore: an animal that eats mostly meat (i.e. other animals)
Cold-blooded: an animal whose body temperature is close to that of the environment and can change with changing environmental temperatures
Crepuscular: to be active, or most active, at dawn or dusk
Deciduous: to lose or drop leaves seasonally each year, as in deciduous trees and shrubs
Diurnal: to be most active in the daytime
Ectotherm: an animal that can maintain its body temperature by gaining heat from the environment (e.g. lizard)
Endangered: to be threatened with extinction, as in an endangered species
Endothermic: an organism that can maintain body temperature by generating heat internally (e.g. humans)
Evergreen: having leaves or foliage that remains green throughout the year, as in evergreen trees and shrubs
Fire ecology: the study of how fire affects an ecosystem
Hibernate: to remain inactive for an extended period of time
Herbivore: an animal that eats mostly living plants or plant parts
Invertebrate: an organism without a backbone
Life zone: a distinct belt of vegetation that occurs within a particular elevation
Macroinvertebrate: any member of a group of invertebrates that can be seen with the naked eye, without magnification
Mammal: any animal that is warm-blooded, has hair or
fur, breathes air, gives birth to live babies, and feeds their young
milk from the mother (e.g. humans)
Metamorphosis: a change in form during the development of an organism
Mimicry: a resemblance to some other organism or object in the environment; often tricks predators or prey
Nocturnal: to be most active at night
Omnivore: an animal that eats both plants and animals (e.g. humans, raccoons)
Photosynthesis: a process in plants that uses the energy of light to make food
Pollination: the transfer of pollen; fertilization
Reptiles: any vertebrate cold-blooded animals that
breathe with lungs, are covered with scales or hard plates, and have
short legs or none at all (e.g. snakes)
Respiration: the process of breathing air
Seed dispersal: the act of spreading seeds
Slope: ground that forms a natural or artificial incline
Territory: an area occupied and protected by a species against others of its own species
Torpor: loss of the power of motion and feeling, usually accompanied by a lower rate of respiration; similar to hibernation
Transpiration: evaporation of water from leaves and other parts of plants
Vertebrate: an organism that has a backbone
Warm-blooded: maintaining a constant and warm body temperature, endothermic
Warning coloration: obvious patterns or colors adopted by poisonous organisms to advertise their dangerousness
Watersheds
View watersheds vocabulary as a printable PDF.
Acid rain: rain with increased acidity that is caused by environmental factors
Amphibian: any of a class of cold-blooded animals with backbones that can live on and in water (i.e. frogs and newts)
Bay: a part of an ocean or lake extending into the land
Benthic: the bottom of the sea or the organisms that live on the bottom of the sea
Biotic index: a numerical measure of the health of a body of water
Brackish: water that is a mixture of freshwater and saltwater
Condensation: the change from a gas to a liquid; the formation of clouds
Detritus: dead and decaying plant and animal parts
Dissolved oxygen: the amount of oxygen that can be found in water
Estuary: a body of water where fresh water and salt water meet and mix
Eutrophication: the process by which a body of water receives high
levels of nutrients, resulting in excessive growth of algae and
depletion of oxygen
Evaporation: the change from a liquid to a gas
Exoskeleton: a hard supporting or protective structure on the outside of the body (e.g. a crab’s shell)
Groundwater: water below the earth's surface; the source of water for wells and springs
Hardness: a measure of the amount of metals in water
Hydrology: the study of water and the water cycle
Invertebrate: an organism without a backbone
Lagoon: a body of water cut off from a larger body by a reef of sand or coral
Larva: a young insect which is not yet an adult
Limnology: the study of freshwater habitats and communities, particularly lakes, ponds, and other standing waters
Nitrate: a form of nitrogen that plants use as a nutrient; it is a water pollutant in high concentrations
Nymph: the adult-like immature stage of an insect
Percolation: a downward flow or infiltration of water through the spaces in rock or soil
Phosphate: a chemical compound that aids root growth in plants; in high concentrations it is a water pollutant
Precipitation: water that falls to the earth as hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow
Riparian: from or relating to the banks of a river or lake
Sedimentation: the act of depositing sediment; the deposition of the material from which sedimentary rocks are formed
Surface flow: the movement of water on the surface of a river or stream
Transpiration: the evaporation of water from leaves and other parts of plants
Transportation: the movement of water over land, from one body of water to another
Turbidity: a measure of the clarity of water
Water cycle: the continuous recycling of water on earth through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
Water quality: a measure of the health of the water
Watershed: the land and waterways that make up the drainage area of a stream or river
Earth and Physical Sciences
View earth and physical sciences vocabulary as a printable PDF.
Barometric pressure: the weight of the atmosphere
Condensation: the change from a gas to a liquid; the formation of clouds
Convection current: an air current caused by rising hot air or fluid and by sinking cool air or fluid
Convergence: the coming together of two tectonic plates
Core: the central part of the earth, made up of mostly iron; the inner core is probably solid, the outer core is probably liquid
Deposition: the process in which sediment is carried by water or wind and left on a beach or floodplain
Divergent plate boundary: the boundary at which two plates move away from each other
Earthquake: vibrations in the earth's crust caused by the sudden release of energy, usually along a fault
El Niño: a mass of unseasonably warm water in the ocean which warms up the ocean and causes changes in the weather
Erosion: the wearing away of land or soil by the action of wind, water, or ice
Evaporation: the change from a liquid to a gas
Fault: a break along two plates in which the plates are moving in different directions
Fog: billions of tiny water droplets floating in the air; a cloud that forms close to the ground
Gravity: the force that pulls objects toward each other
Igneous rock: any rock formed by the cooling of magma or lava
Lithosphere: earth's outer, rigid part consisting of the upper mantle, oceanic crust, and continental crust
Mantle: the thick layer between earth’s crust and core, made mostly of melted rocks called magma
Metamorphic rock: any rock that has been changed by heat and/or pressure
Meteorology: the study of weather and climate
Microclimate: the climate of a small region with weather conditions that differ from the surrounding area
Mineral: a naturally occurring component of rocks
Plate tectonics: a theory that the litho sphere of the earth is divided into a small number of plates which float on and travel over the mantle
Precipitation: water that falls to the earth as hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow
Radiation: movement of energy in the form of waves or particles
Rock cycle: a sequence of processes through which Earth materials may pass as they are transformed from one rock type to another
Seafloor spreading: the theory that the seafloor moves away from spreading ridges and is eventually consumed at subduction zones
Sedimentary rock: any rock composed of sediment (e.g. sand stone and lime stone)
Soil: material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow
Subduction: the process in which an oceanic plate drops beneath another plate
Tide: the rise and fall of the level of the ocean due to gravitational pulls and the rotation of the earth
Transform plate boundary: plate boundary along which tectonic plates slide past one another; also known as a strike-slip fault
Transport: to move weathered material is moved from one place to another, commonly by running water, wind, or glaciers
Uplift: to raise or elevate something, such as an area of land or rock
Upwelling: the rising of cold, nutrient-rich water from the deeper areas of the ocean to the surface
Weathering: the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks and minerals at or near earth's surface
Wind direction: the direction in which wind is traveling
Wind speed: the speed at which wind is traveling
Marin Headlands History
View Marin Headlands history vocabulary as a printable PDF.
Coastal artillery: a military outpost set up to house artillery along the coastline
Conservation: a careful preservation and protection of natural resources
Culture: the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group
Indigenous: produced, growing, or living naturally in a particular region or environment
Military: of, for, or relating to the army or armed forces
National Park Service: a division of the Department of the Interior that cares for national parks, monuments, historic sites, and recreational areas
Sanctuary: a place of safety where animals can breed without interference
Settler: a person who settles in a new country or area
Topographic map: a map on which elevations are shown by means of contour lines
General Ecology
View general ecology vocabulary as a printable PDF.
Abiotic: anything that is not alive (air, water, minerals)
Adaptation: a change in body part or behavior, usually inherited, that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment
Biodiversity: the many different plants and animals in a particular place
Biome: a major category of ecological communities (e.g. grassland biome)
Biotic: anything that is alive, or from something that was once alive (e.g. plants, animals)
Camouflage: the ability of an animal to blend in with its surroundings; to be hidden while in plain sight
Carnivore: an animal that eats mostly meat (i.e. other animals)
Community: a close association of organisms that share common spaces and resources
Consumer: an organism that needs to eat other organisms and cannot produce its own food
Decomposer: an organism that eats dead or decaying material and turns it into a natural resource such as soil, air, or water
Dynamic equilibrium: the state of balance during the process of change in an ecosyst
em
Ecology: the study of the natural environment and of the relationship of organisms to one another and their surroundings
Ecosystem: all of the interacting parts of the physical and biological worlds
Environment: an organism's surroundings, including the plants and animals that it interacts with
Food chain: a way to represent how energy moves through a community by tracking who eats what
Food web: a way to represent how various paths of energy move through a community in different food chains
Habitat: the place where an animal or plant lives
Herbivore: an animal that eats mostly plants or plant parts
Interdependence: a condition in which 2 or more species must depend on each other for survival
Keystone species: a species, usually a predator, that has a major influence on the other species populations of a community
Limiting factor: a resource or condition that limits the growth of a population
Microorganism: an organism that can only be seen with the aid of a microscope
Migration: the seasonal movement of organisms which travel long distances to follow food sources or to find optimal weather conditions
Niche: the ecological role or function of a species in a community
Omnivore: an animal that eats both plants and animals (e.g. humans, raccoons)
Parasitism: a relationship between 2 organisms in which 1 organism benefits from the relationship and the other is harmed by it
Population: all the species that live in the same place and time
Predator: an animal that kills and eats other animals
Prey: an animal that is killed and eaten by other animals
Producer: an organism that can use photosynthesis to produce its own food from the sun (e.g. plants)
Scavenger: an organism that eats already dead or decaying materials that it finds
Species diversity: the relative number of different species in a population
Species richness: the number of different species in a population
Symbiosis: a close relationship between two species
Stewardship
View stewardship vocabulary as a printable PDF.
Compost: a mixture largely of decayed plant matter used for fertilizing and planting
Conservation: a careful preservation and protection of natural resources
Environmental justice: the fair treatment of people of all races,
cultures, incomes, and educational levels in development and
enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies
Greenhouse: an enclosed glass house used for growing plants in regulated temperatures, humidity, and ventilation
Leave No Trace: a wilderness ethic that encourages leaving minimum impact to show respect and appreciation for the environment
Non-point source pollution: water pollution that cannot be traced to a specific source
Non-renewable resources: natural resources that cannot be replaced once used (e.g. coal, natural gas, fossil fuels)
Point source pollution: water pollution that can be traced to a specific source
Preserve: to keep safe from harm or injury; a protected area of land or water
Recycle: to make new products from old ones
Reduce: to decrease usage
Renewable resources: natural resources that can be renewed or reused many times (e.g. solar energy)
Reuse: to use something again
Shadehouse: an enclosed house used for growing plants, usually providing shade
Stewardship: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care
Volunteer: to share one's time or talents for charitable, educational, or other activities, especially in one's community
Photo Credits:
Red-Tailed Hawk: Marin Trails
Newt: Jens V. Vindum, California Academy of Sciences
Raptor: Willie Williams
