Glossary
This list of definitions have been provided for your convenience should you come across anything you do not understand within this website.
- Aggregation
- A mass of distinct things gathered together in a group.
- Agile
- Quick and easy in movement.
- Algae
- A group of primitive plants, one-celled or many-celled, containing chlorophyll and found in water or damp places.
- Aquatic
- Living or growing in, on or near water; having a water habitat.
- Barnacle
- A shell-bearing sea animal that attaches itself to rocks, ship bottoms, etc.
- Blubber
- A thick, insulating layer of fat beneath the skin of marine mammals.
- Brackish
- Of water, having less salt content than sea water, but still undrinkable.
- Bull
- Term used to describe an adult manatee.
- Buoyancy
- Ability to float.
- Calf
- Term used to describe a newborn or young manatee.
- Conflict
- A struggle between two or more parties.
- Congregation
- A gathering.
- Conservation
- The care and protection of our natural resources, such as forests, endangered species, etc.
- Cow
- Term used to describe an adult female manatee.
- Discharge
- To release, as in warm water from power plants into natural waters.
- Docile
- Easy-going, mild mannered.
- Dugong
- One of two species of marine mammals in the order Sirenia, the dugong and seacow.
- Ecology
- The study of the interrelationships which exist between organisms and their environment.
- Effluent
- Liquid which flows away from a constraining space or main waterway.
- Emergent
- Protruding above the water's surface, as on cattails.
- Endangered
- To place in jeopardy; expose to loss.
- Endangered Species Act of 1973
- Strong legislative action which served to protect various species of native fish and wildlife that are threatened with extinction.
- Environment
- Surroundings; conditions surrounding and affecting the development of an organism.
- Estrus
- Period in female during which ovulation occurs and the animal is receptive to mating.
- Estuary
- A semi-closed coastal body of water which is connected to the open sea and within which sea water is diluted with fresh water; highly productive body of water.
- Exterminate
- To destroy entirely; wipe out.
- Extinct
- Having died out; no longer in existence as in Steller's sea cow.
- Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
- Prohibits the taking, sale, possession, importation and transportation of certain marine mammals in the U.S.
- Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978
- Legislative action which requires slow speeds by boat traffic in designated areas where manatees are known to congregate at certain times of the year(winter)
- Fluctuations
- To move up and down, unstable.
- Fluke
- Term applied to the large tail of the manatee.
- Fluvial
- Of, found in or protected by a river.
- Harassment
- The act of worrying or tormenting, as to harass an animal.
- Herbicide
- Chemical agent that destroys or inhibits plant growth.
- Herbivore
- Animal that eats only plants, vegetation.
- Herd
- Term used to designate a group of manatees.
- Hyacinth
- An aquatic plant of the lily family, which has been introduced to Florida's waterways and is considered an exotic pest.
- Lactic
- Of or obtained from milk.
- Lethargic
- Lazy, listless.
- Mammal
- A large class of warm-blooded animals of which have a body covered with hair and the females have milk-secreting glands for feeding their offspring.
- Mandatory
- An order of law that must be followed.
- Marine
- Of or pertaining to the sea.
- Mermaid
- According to legend, a sea creature with the head and body of a woman and the tail of a fish (early reports are thought to liken this to the manatee)
- Monofilament
- A type of line used in fishing.
- Morphology
- A branch of biology which deals with the structure and form of an organism an any stage of its life history.
- Mortality
- The ratio of deaths to population; death rate.
- Niche
- An especially suited place or position.
- Pesticides
- A chemical agent which destroys undesirable organisms.
- Physiology
- The study of functions and vital processes of living organisms.
- Poaching
- Act of hunting or catching game illegally; to steal.
- Polyandrous
- The practice of having more that one mate at a time.
- Propeller
- A device having a series of blades mounted at an angle for driving forward a boat or an aircraft.
- Propulsion
- Being propelled or moved forward.
- Range
- Distance traveled; limited area.
- Refuge
- Shelter or protection from danger.
- Residue
- That which is left after part is removed; remainder.
- Sanctuary
- A place of refuge or protection.
- Sensitivity
- Very easily affected by some type of agent.
- Sirenians
- In zoology, the order of aquatic mammals which include living manatees and dugongs; nearly hairless, thick skinned mammals without handlimbs and with paddle-like forelimbs.
- Skeg
- An extension of the stern end of the keel of a boat, which in some cases passes under the propeller and supports the rudder post.
- Spring
- A flow of water from the ground.
- Status
- Position, rank.
- Steller's sea cow
- Of the manatee family, a species that is extinct.
- Submerged
- A place or sink beneath the water's surface.
- Tributaries
- A stream flowing into a larger river.
- Tropical
- Pertaining to the region between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, which has a very warm climate.
- Valves
- A membrane structure which opens and closes the nostrils of the seacow, permitting the animal to breathe.
- Vandalism
- The act of destroying or damaging.
- Vegetarian
- One who eats no meat, only vegetables.
- Vulnerable
- Open to or easily hurt by criticism, attack.