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Embryo

young of an organism at its very early stages of development

Endangered

plant or animal whose prospects for survival and reproduction are in immediate jeopardy

Endemic

native to a specific area, habitat, or region

Endoskeleton

internal skeleton, like the bony or cartilaginous skeletons of vertebrates

Envenomation

to sting or impregnate an organism with a toxin by means of a stinger, spine, barb, bite or poisonous tissue

Environment

sum of biological and non-biological factors to which an organism, population or community is subjected

Enzyme

a protein molecule produced by living organisms that causes a cehmical reaction to take place at a faster rate or under different conditions without itself being destroyed or altered upon completion of the reaction

Ephyra

immature medusae

Epibenthic

living on the seabed

Erosion

loss of soil due to water flow, especially in areas where native vegetation has been removed

Estivate

state of dormancy induced by high temperature; breathing and circulation slows slightly

Estrus

period of sexual receptivity in most female mammals during which mating and conception occur

Estuary

area where fresh water in the form of streams or rivers influenced by oceanic tides empties into the ocean or a coastal bay, usually forming a salt marsh

Ethology

study of animal behavior

Excluder

a plant with the ability to exclude salt from tissues, example, salty Susan

Excretor

plant able to excrete salt from their tissues. example, sea lavender

Exoskeleton

external skeleton, like the "shell" of a crab or lobster. Usually made of keratin.

Extinct

no longer in existence

Fast ice

sea ice that has frozen along coasts and is attached to it or to the sea floor over shallow parts of the continental shelf, and extends out from land intothe ocean waters. Usually melts when temperatures rise in the summer.

Fauna

animal life of a region, special environment

Feces

excrement

Fecund

fertile or capable of producing many offspring

Feduncity

capacity, especially in female organisms, of producing eggs, sperm, or offspring in great numbers

Feral

individuals of a domesticated species that have returned to a wild state

Festoon

string

Filamentous

chainlike series of cells as in many algae

Filaments

fine or threadlike structures

Filter feeder

animal that eats by passing surrounding water through a filtering device and filtering or straining out small particles of food

Fission

form of asexual reproduction in which the parent organism divides into two or more parts, each becoming an independent individual

Float

gas containing structure found on the stem of large kelp that buoys up the plant; pneumatophore or pneumatocyst

Flora

plant life of a region, special environment, or period of history

Flukes

two lobes of a cetacean or dugong's tail

Flyway

route followed by migrating birds. There are four major north to south routes in the US.

Food chain

progression of feeding levels in which one organism is the food source for the next level

Food web

description of the interactions or complex relationships between various food levels

Forage

food for animals, especially when taken by browsing or grazing; to search for food

Fossil

hardened remains or traces of plant or animal life of a past geological period; usually preserved in rock

Fouling

mass of living and non-living bodies and particles attached to a submerged object

Frond

leaf-like structure of a plant: kelp stipe (stem-like part) and the attached blades

Fry

fish that have completed yolk absorption and are less than a few months old

Fusiform

spindle or torpedo shaped; rounded, broadest in the middle and tapering toward each end

Gamete

mature sperm or egg, capable of fusing during fertilization

Gametophyte

gamete-forming phase in alteration of plant generations

Gastropod

mollusks of the class Gastropoda, such as snails, slugs, cowries, or limpets, characteristically having a single, usually coiled shell or no shell at all, a ventral muscular foot for locomotion, and eyes and feelers located on a distinct head

Generic

relating to or determined by the origin, development, or causal antecedents of something

Genus

subdivision of a biological family: biological ranking between family and species

Gestation

period during which young are carried in the uterus

Gill

aquatic respiratory organ

Gill net

a fishing net set vertically in the water so that fish swimming into it are entangled by the gills in its mesh

Gill raker

modified dermal denticles that are projections on the inner margin of the gill arches that point forward and upward and act as a sieve by straining water preventing food particles from entering the gills