Biology

Biology

A natural science concerned with the study of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena, especially in relation to their origin, growth, reproduction, structure, behaviour and evolution.

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Biology > Ecology

residence time

Biology; Ecology

The amount of water held in a given body divided by the amount that flows into and out of it. (The oceans' residence time is roughly 40,000 years. By contrast, the average ...

floodplain

Biology; Ecology

The natural path taken by a flood-swollen river. In the U. S. , more than ten million homes are located in or near floodplains, and the Bush Administration has eased building ...

riffle

Biology; Ecology

A stretch of rapid, shallow water flow, as in a stream, broken up by bar deposits, rock, or gravel. In streams pools often alternate with riffles. Also: mining term for the slats ...

adaptation

Biology; Ecology

How living things change what they do or what they are to survive in a particular environment. In this the organism is not a passive recipient of external circumstances; the ...

keystone species

Biology; Ecology

A species that increases or decreases the diversity of a system. Example: otters, which when hunted to extinction remove a check on the sea urchins that will eat local kelp ...

abandoned wells

Biology; Ecology

A hazard because wells left on vacated lands can channel water contaminated by pesticides and fertilizer straight down into the water table. Some states in the U. S. Offer ...

quartz

Biology; Ecology

A hexagonally latticed silicon dioxide mineral. A chief component of sand and therefore sandstone. It is the second most abundant mineral after feldspar and is common in ...