Wednesday, August 10, 2016 Wednesday's Assignment
Conservation: The act of protecting nature – water, plants and wildlife.
Drainage Basin: An area drained by a river system. A drainage basin acts like a funnel
collecting all the water within the area covered by the basin and channeling it into a waterway.
An example is the Great Lakes drainage basin.
Ecology: The study of the relationships between living organisms (plants, animals) and their
environment.
Ecosystem: A collection of living things and the environment in which they live.
Estuary: A wide body of water formed where a large river meets the sea. Estuaries experience
tidal flows and their water is a changing mixture of fresh and salt water.
Fertilizer: Any substance, such as manure or a mixture of chemicals, added to soil to increase
its productivity.
Invasive Species: A non-native species that is so reproductively successful and aggressive
that it can dominate an area often to the point of becoming a monoculture. It interferes with the
natural functioning and diversity of the ecosystem where it becomes established.
Mollusk: An invertebrate animal living in water and often having a soft body, protected by a
hard outer shell. An example is a zebra mussel.
Phosphate: A major nutrient required for good crop nutrition and plant growth; it is highly
reactive and quickly binds to other elements. It is also found in commonly used soaps. A large
buildup of phosphates can remove the oxygen from natural bodies of water.
Pollutant: Any substance, such as chemicals or waste products, that makes the air, soil, or
water harmful or unsuitable.
Predator: An organism that kills and consumes another organism (prey); includes animals
eating other animals, and animals eating plants.
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