Term | Definition |
Altricial | young that are relatively undeveloped and unable to function at a high level at birth or hatch, requiring a long period of parental care |
Altruistic | behavior that reduces personal fitness for benefit of others |
Baleen | horny substance growing as plates from upper jaws of whales of the suborder Mysticeti used to filter plankton from water |
Bergmann's rule | biogeographical rule that races of species from cold climates tend to be composed of individuals that physically larger then those from warmer climates |
Browser | an herbivore that feeds on leaves and shoots from tress and bushes rather than on grasses(Ex: deer) |
Bruce effect | effect in mice where the presence of a strange male or his odor causes a female to abort her pregnancy and become receptive |
Camouflage | pattern or coloration that helps an animal blend in with its surroundings |
Canine teeth | unicuspid teeth posterior to the incisors and anterior to the premolars that meat-eating mammals use to stab and grip food and for defense |
Carnassial teeth | long, sharp-edged teeth that meat-eating mammals that have near the back of their jaws. used to slice through meat |
Carnivore | any animal that eats meat; mammal that specializes in hunting other animals |
Carrying capacity | maximum number of animals that can be supported in a given area or habitat |
Casque | a hard "helmet" on a bird's head or the top of its beak |
Clutch | group of eggs laid at one time by a female, such as a bird or reptile |
Colostrum | a special type of protein-rich mammalian milk secreted during the first few days before and after parturition; containing antibodies that confer mom's immunity to various disease to the young |
Concaveation | exposure of a non-pregnant, non-lactating female to newborn of her species inducing retrieval and huddling over infants, and sometimes production of milk |
Coprophagy | eating of feces or fecal pellets |
Display | any relatively conspicuous pattern of behavior that conveys specific information to others, usually to members of the same species; can include visual and or vocal elements as in threat, courtship, or "greeting" displays |
Echolocation | process of perception, often direction finding, based upon reaction to the pattern of reflected sound waves(echos); used by bats, dolphins, and whales |
Ectothermic, exothermic | maintenance of body temperature by behavioral means(Ex: basking in the sun) |
Endothermic | maintenance of constant body temperature by means of heat produced by endogenous means(Ex: sweating, panting, shivering) |
Epimeletic | providing care, help or attention to others |
Et-epimeletic | care-seeking or soliciting behavior |
Feral animal | domesticated animal that has escaped from human control and taken up life in the wild |
Fluke | a whale or dolphin's tail; it beats up and down rather than from side to side(unlike a fish tail) |
Gestation period | in mammals, the time it takes an embryo/fetus to develop inside its mother's body, from the moment of fertilization to the time it is born |
Grazer | animal that feeds mainly on grass rather than the leaves and shoots of trees and plants(Ex: horses) |
Herbivore | animal whose diet is composed of plants and plant material |
Hindgut fermenter | herbivore that depends on microbial activity in its cecum(or hindgut) for digestion of cellulose and lignin(Ex: horses, guinea pigs) |
Homeostasis | maintenance of a state of psychophysiological balance within an organism by means of internal control mechanisms |
Incubation | act of setting on eggs to them warm |
Instinct | natural impusle that enables animals to follow a pattern of behavior without having to learn it first |
Lek | place where male animals gather during the breeding season to attract females |
Lordosis | a behavior, performed by females signaling their willingness to mate, in which the lumbar curvature is exaggerated |
Matriarchal | said of a society in which most activity and behavior are centered on the dominant female |
Omnivore | an animal eating a varied diet including both animal and plant tissue |
Parasite | animal that feeds on or inside another living animal (the host) |
Placenta | structure that connects the fetus and the mother's uterus to ensure a supply of nutrients to the fetus and removal of its waste products |
Predator | any animal that lives by hunting others |
Precocial | young that are well developed and able to function at a high level at hatch or birth |
Pouch | flap of skin on the underbelly of female marsupials that covers the mammillae |
Prehensile | capable of grasping and holding |
Promiscuous | having many indiscriminate or casual sexual relationships |
Rookery | colony of pinnipeds |
Rorqual | one of the eight species of baleen whales of the family Balaenopteridae |
Rumen | large stomach chamber that many plant-eating mammals use to break down their food |
Ruminant | herbivore that has multiple-chambered stomach where fermentation of plant material occurs |
Scavenger | animal that lives on leftovers, including dead remains that have been left by predators |
Species | category of biological classification ranking just below the genus and comprising closely related organisms potentially able to breed with each other and produce young that are both viable and fertile |
Symbiosis | a partnership that involves individuals or groups of two different species that is beneficial to both parties |
Territory | a space that is claimed by an animal for living or breeding activities |
Thermoneutral range | range in environmental temperature in which a mammal uses the minimum amount of energy to maintain a constant internal body temperature |
Vertebrate | any animal that has a backbone |
Vestigial | a characteristic with little or no contemporary use, but derived from one which was useful and well developed in an ancestral form |
Yolk sac | a sac, containing yolk, which hangs from the ventral surface of the vertebrate fetus |
Zoonoses | diseases transmitted from vertebrate, non-human mammals to people |