Glossary of Important Terms
Acidification: The process of something, in this case water, becoming more acidic. In freshwater, reasons for this include uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide, runoff of fertilizers, and other human pollutants.
Benthic: This refers to the lowest or deepest region in a body of water, including the water bed.
Bivalves: A group of water-dwelling animals that is defined by their two-piece hinged shell, including oysters, scallops, clams, and mussels.
Brumation: The cold-blooded-animal version of hibernation, brumation is a state of decreased activity reptiles enter during cold periods in order to conserve energy. In this state, many bodily processes slow down or stop entirely, including digestion, heart rate, and breathing rate.
Contamination: The process or state of being polluted. Water can be contaminated by the runoff of agricultural and industrial chemicals, roads and storm drains, or wastewater treatment outputs.
Ecosystem: A place where all the living things (plants, animals, microorganisms) interact with each other and with nonliving parts of their environment (water, sun, temperature, rocks, and soil).
Ectothermic: Frequently called cold-blooded animals, ectothermic animals are different from endothermic animals because they have no way to produce their own body heat. Instead, they must rely on external sources for warming and cooling, such as direct sunlight, warm rocks, or shade.
Estivation: This is a state of decreased activity that animals enter during periods of hot weather. Like hibernation and brumation, animals will seek a sheltered place to wait out the extreme temperatures, and their body systems, such as breathing and heart rate, will slow down.
Freshwater: Any naturally occurring water that is not salty or brackish (a mixture of fresh and saltwater). Examples include lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, glaciers, and most wetlands.
Glaciation: The long-term geologic process of large areas of land being covered by glaciers and ice sheets. Glaciers and ice sheets are made of thick, dense ice that does not melt during the summer months.
Glochidia: The parasitic larvae of freshwater mussels that use their mouthparts (hooks and suckers) to attach themselves to host fish, which transport them up or downstream.
Indigenous: Of or originating in a particular place. When talking about humans, indigenous refers to the original inhabitants of that land, rather than the people who later settled, occupied, or colonized that place.
Invasive species: Any species that is non-native to an ecosystem (has been introduced there). These species will often cause damage to the ecosystem by outcompeting similar species for limited resources like food or space, and can cause a loss of biodiversity and even extinctions.
Macro-invertebrate: A living thing that can be seen by the naked eye and has an exoskeleton.
Nymph: An immature stage of many insects. Unlike larvae, nymphs already look similar to their final adult form, except for their lack of wings.
Permeable: A word used to describe any material that allows liquid or gas to pass through it.
Runoff (toxins): Any water that flows across the ground instead of being absorbed. Runoff also includes any chemicals, pollutants, or other substances carried by this water.
Salinization: The buildup of salts, primarily in soil or freshwater ecosystems. This can have negative impacts on the health of these ecosystems and the species living there.
Sedimentation: The process of particles (like sand and clay) settling and accumulating on the bottom of a body of water.
Substrate: The surface or material where an organism lives, grows, or gets nutrients and other nourishment. In this case, substrate refers to the waterbed of a river, lake, stream, or other body of freshwater.
Watershed: An area of land that channels all rainfall and snowmelt to a common outlet. In other words, a network of streams, creeks, rivers, lakes, and/or ponds that all eventually flow through one point like the mouth of a river or a delta.
Wetland: Any area of land where the soil is entirely submerged or waterlogged, either seasonally or year-round. Common names for wetlands include swamp, bog, mudflats, marshes, and fens.