Term | Definition |
Asexual reproduction | A mode of reproduction by which offspring arise from a single organism, and inherit the genes of that parent only; it is reproduction which almost never involves ploidy or reduction. |
Cell | The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, typically microscopic and consisting of cytoplasm and a nucleus enclosed in a membrane. |
Cephalization | The concentration of sense organs, nervous control, etc., at the anterior end of the body, forming a head and brain, both during evolution and in the course of an embryo's development. |
Closed Circulatory System | Has the blood closed at all times within vessels of different size and wall thickness. In this type of system, blood is pumped by a heart through vessels, and does not normally fill body cavities. |
Coelom | The body cavity in metazoans, located between the intestinal canal and the body wall. |
Colonial | Several individual organisms (especially of the same species) living together in close association. |
Fluid feeding | Getting your nutrients by consuming the fluids of another organism. |
Endoskeleton | The internal skeleton; bony and cartilaginous structure (especially of vertebrates). |
Filter Feeding | An aquatic animal that feeds on particles or small organisms strained out of water by circulating them through its system: includes most of the stationary feeders, as clams, oysters, barnacles, corals, sea squirts, and sponges. |
Free-living | Living independently of another organism; not part of a parasitic or symbiotic relationship. |
Internal transport | A transport system is a means by which materials are moved ('transported') from an exchange surface or exchange surfaces to cells* located throughout the organism. |
Invertebrates | The definition of an invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. |
Levels of organization | The biological levels of organization range from a single organelle all the way up to the biosphere in a highly structured hierarchy. |
Life functions | Nutrition, transport, Respiration, excretion, elimination, reproduction, growth, repair, synthesis, locomotion, regulation. |
Medusa | The freely-swimming, umbrella- or disk-shaped gelatinous form of Cnidarians (as opposed to the polyp form). |
Motility | The ability of an animal to move food through its digestive tract; peristaltic movement. |
Motility/Motile | Of, pertaining to, or relating to motility; capable of moving or self-propelling. |
Multicellular | Multicellular organisms are organisms that consist of more than one cell, in contrast to single-celled organisms. |
Niche | The specific area where an organism inhabits. |
Open Circulatory System | Closed circulatory systems have the blood closed at all times within vessels of different size and wall thickness. In this type of system, blood is pumped by a heart through vessels, and does not normally fill body cavities. |
Organ | A part of an organism that is typically self-contained and has a specific vital function, such as the heart or liver in humans. |
Organ System | An organ system is a group of organs that work together to perform one or more functions. Organs make up an organism. |
Parasite | An organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense. |
Polyp | A solitary or colonial sedentary form of a coelenterate such as a sea anemone, typically having a columnar body with the mouth uppermost surrounded by a ring of tentacles. |
Reproduction | The production of offspring by a sexual or asexual process. |
Respiration | A process in living organisms involving the production of energy, typically with the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide from the oxidation of complex organic substances. |
Response | An action or movement due to the application of stimulus. |
Sessile | (Of a plant or animal structure) attached directly by its base without a stalk or peduncle. |
Sexual Reproduction | The production of new living organisms by combining genetic information from two individuals of different types (sexes) A male and a female. |
Symmetry | The quality of being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis. |
Tissue | Any of the distinct types of material of which animals or plants are made, consisting of specialized cells and their products. |
Vertebral Column | The spine; the backbone. |