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Adaptation
A characteristic of an animal or plant to help it survive in its environment. For example, reptiles have dry scaly skin to reduce water loss.

Aestivate
To remain dormant throughout the summer months. The summer equivalent of hibernation.

Agamid
A family of lizard commonly referred to as dragons. Includes such species as Frilled Dragon and Mitchell’s Bearded Dragon.

Amphibious
Living both on land and in water.

Arboreal
Adapted for living and moving about in trees, eg gibbons or possums.

Browse
Noun: plant material, usually the leaves, shoots or twigs of woody plants and trees
Verb: to feed on plant material, especially the leaves of woody plants, that is not growing close to the ground.
 
Browser
An animal that eats browse, eg a giraffe.

Carnivore
Any animal or plant that feeds mostly on meat, eg a tiger.

Chytrid fungus
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungus capable of causing sporadic deaths in some amphibian populations and 100% mortality in others. 

Chytridiomycosis
An infectious disease caused by Chytrid fungus that affects amphibians and is regarded as one of the major causes of the decline of amphibian numbers worldwide.

Class
One of the categories into which organisms are divided. For example, mammals belong to the Class Mammalia.

Conservation
The process of protecting something from undesirable change, eg saving an animal from extinction.

Conservation Status
A measure of a species' survival in the wild, usually measured against the scale devised by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and collated in the Red List of Threatened Species. The categories are Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Least Concern, Data Deficient and Not Evaluated.

Constrictor
A snake that kills by wrapping its coils around and then suffocating its prey, eg a python.

Crepuscular
Active at dawn and dusk, eg a Dibbler.

Critically Endangered
Referring to a species facing a high risk of becoming extinct, usually taken to be when there are fewer than 50 mature individuals though there are other criteria for applying this status.

Data Deficient
Referring to a species where there is inadequate information to make an assessment of its risk of extinction. For example, Sun Bears are data deficient as there is not enough information about their population size or distribution.

Diurnal
Active during the day, eg a Numbat.

Ecosystem
The interactions of the plants and animals and non-living features of an environment.

Ectothermic
An animal that relies on the temperature of its surroundings to regulate its own body temperature. For example, a lizard moving onto a hot rock to bask in the sun.

Endangered
Referring to a species that is facing a risk of extinction in the wild, usually taken to be when fewer than 250 mature individuals exist.

Endothermic
An animal that generates body heat by its own metabolism, eg mammals and birds.

Extinct
Referring to a species which has died out and no longer exists.

Family
A group of genera which have some characteristics in common. For example, tigers and leopards are members of the cat family. Scientific names of families of animals end in –idae and those of families of plants end in –ae.

Genus
A group of closely related species. The plural is genera.

Graze
Verb: to feed on low-growing plants, usually grass.

Grazer
A grazing animal, eg a zebra.

Habitat
The type of environment in which a specific organism lives.

Habitat Loss
A permanent disappearance of or decrease in the amount of suitable environment available to an organism. Also called habitat reduction or habitat destruction.

Herbivore
An animal that eats plant matter, such as leaves, grasses and fruit, eg giraffe, koala or kangaroo.

Hibernate
To survive the cold winter months by a big reduction in metabolic rate and activity, and by using up stored body fat for food.

Insectivore
An animal that feeds mainly on insects, eg Numbat or echidna.

Mammal
An animal that gives birth to live young, secretes milk to feed them, keeps a constant body temperature and is covered with hair.

Marsupial
A mammal that has a pouch in which its young are carried. The young is also born at a much earlier stage of development than other mammals, eg kangaroo or Numbat.

Metabolism
The natural chemical processes occurring inside an organism.

Monotreme
A mammal that lays eggs. There are only three species of monotremes: Short-beaked Echidna, Long-beaked Echidna and the Platypus.

Nocturnal
Active during night.

Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and meat, eg pigs or human.

Order
A classification of animals or plants, formed of several families. For example, Order Carnivora, Family Canidae (dog family).

Organism
Any individual life form that is able to reproduce and grow, eg a plant, animal or microorganism.

Predator
An animal that kills and eats other animals.

Prehensile
Adapted for seizing or grasping an object. Usually in reference to a prehensile tail, which can grab hold of a branch or object and be used as a fifth limb. Many monkeys from South America have prehensile tails.

Prey
An animal which is killed and eaten by another.

Primate
Any mammal from the order Primates, which includes humans, the apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and gibbons), monkeys, lemurs etc.

Raptor
A bird of prey, eg eagle or hawk.

Species
A group of organisms that can interbreed and share common characteristics. For example, the tiger species or orangutan species.

Subspecies
A group of organisms that is part of a species but which shows slight differences from the main group, with which it can still interbreed. For example, tigers are the species, but Sumatran Tiger, Bengal Tiger, Amur Tiger etc are the subspecies.

Tegulae
Claw-like nails usually found on marmosets or tamarins.

Terrestrial
Referring to dry land, as opposed to the sea or air.

Threatened
In danger of being harmed, damaged or reduced in numbers. In danger of extinction.

Vulnerable
Referring to a species that is likely to become endangered unless protective measures are taken.

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References
PH Collin, Dictionary of Environment and Ecology, 5th ed., Bloomsbury, London, 1985.

The Macquarie Dictionary, 2nd ed., Macquarie, New South Wales,1981.

Chytridiomycosis (amphibian chytrid fungus disease), Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Canberra, 2004, viewed 6 June 2007, <http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/c-disease/index.html>