Term | Definition |
Asexual Reproduction | A form of reproduction in which offspring are born of a single parent. |
Cell | The smallest structural unit of a living organism. |
Cephalization | The concentration of sense organs at the anterior end of the body. |
Closed Circulatory System | In a closed circulatory system, the blood is enclosed within the body at all times within vessels of varying size. |
Coelom | The body cavity in metazoans. |
Colonial | The tendency to live in a colony. |
Fluid Feeding | The consumption of the fluids of other organisms. |
Endoskeleton | An internal skeleton. |
Excretion | The process of expelling waste matter. |
Exoskeleton | A rigid external covering for the body which provides both support and protection. |
Filter Feeding | The process of feeding by filtering out nutrients suspended in water. |
Free-living | To live independent of another organism. |
Internal Transport | The means by which materials are moved through an organism's body. |
Invertebrates | Animals lacking backbones. |
Levels of Organization | The categorized levels of existence within the biosphere. |
Life Functions | The processes which keep an organism alive. |
Medusa | A free-swimming, sexual form of a coelenterate. |
Motility | The ability to move spontaneously and actively. |
Motile | The property of being able to move spontaneously. |
Multicellular | A property describing an organism comprised of more than one cell. |
Niche | A position filled by an organism in its community. |
Open Circulatory System | In an open circulatory system, the blood does not remain exclusively contained within vessels. |
Organ | A self-contained part of an organism that performs a vital function. |
Organ System | A group of organs that work together to perform one or more functions. |
Parasite | An organism that lives in or on another organism, to the latter's expense. |
Polyp | A solitary or colonial sedentary form of a coelenterate. |
Reproduction | The production of offspring through sexual or asexual processes. |
Respiration | A process involving the production of energy, typically through the intake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide. |
Response | The reaction to a stimulus. |
Sessile | The property of being unable to move spontaneously or actively. |
Sexual Reproduction | the process of producing offspring by combining the genetic information from two parent organisms. |
Symmetry | The quality of being made up of exactly similar parts. |
Tissue | Any of the distinct types of material of which an organism are made. |
Vertebral Column | The backbone of an organism. |