The following glossary is not meant to be comprehensive
and is still under development.
| Glossary
Item |
Definition |
| Allocthonous
|
(1) Material formed or introduced from a place other than
where it is presently found. (2) Fragmented rock thrown out
of a volcanic crater during its formation that either falls
back partly filling the crater or blankets outer flanks after
an impact event. |
| Anthropogenic |
Relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings
on nature |
| Benthic |
From, related to, or of the bottom surfaces of bodies of
water |
| Candidate Species |
Legal listing of a species for which there is sufficient
data on status and threats to propose them as endangered or
threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but for which
development of a listing regulation is precluded by other
higher priority listing activities |
| CITES |
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species,
section 8 of the ESA authorizes its implementation, which
includes regulating or prohibiting international commerce
for plant and animal species believed to be harmed by or that
may be harmed by international trade |
| Confirmed Habitat |
Essential habitat of a given species that includes documented
occurrences of that species |
| Coniferous |
Habitat dominated by evergreen trees and/or shrubs; or type
of tree or shrub that is evergreen (retains green leaves throughout
each year as new leaves emerge) |
| Deciduous |
Habitat dominated by trees and/or shrubs that shed their
leaves seasonally every year, being without leaves during
dormant season(s) until the new ones emerge |
| Drainage |
|
| Ecoregion |
|
| Ecotone |
|
| Edge |
The area/habitat where two types of habitat meet, such as
where forest habitat is adjacent to open meadow or field habitat,
|
| Endangered |
In danger or peril of becoming extinct throughout all or
a significant portion of its range |
| Endemic |
Native to a particular area, ecoregion, country, locality,
etc. |
| ESA |
Endangered Species Act |
| Essential Habitat |
Habitat features critical to a species’ viability.
Includes any habitat used during a species’ life cycle.
Habitat units referred to as ‘occasional’ and
even ‘preferred’, may not qualify as essential.
|
| Exotic |
a species of animal that is not native to the State of Virginia
- sometimes used to denote a species that invades and takes
over native species habitat |
| Extinction |
The state of a species no longer existing throughout its
entire range |
| Extirpation |
The state of a species no longer existing in regions that
are historically part of its entire range |
| Federal Species of Concern |
Informal listing of species that might be in need of conservation
action, ranging from periodic monitoring of populations and
threats to the species and its habitat, to the necessity for
listing as threatened or endangered. This is not a legally
protected listing and use of the term does not necessarily
imply that a species will eventually be proposed for listing.
|
| Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) |
the Nation's forest census; A U.S. Forest Service research
unit that reports on status and trends in forest area and
location; in the species, size, and health of trees; in total
tree growth, mortality, and removals by harvest; in wood production
and utilization rates by various products; and in forest land
ownership. |
| G rank |
Global level ranking used by the national network of Natural
Heritage Programs that refers to a species' rarity throughout
its total range. |
| Gap |
Gap Analysis is a scientific means for assessing to what
extent native animal and plant species are being protected
with the goal of keeping common species common. |
| Generalist |
A species that uses a variety of habitat types, for example,
forest generalists use a variety of forest habitats (i.e.
coniferous, deciduous, mixed, open, etc.) |
| Genetic Diversity |
The genetic diversity within a species is primarily the
variety of populations that comprise it. Species reduced to
a single population (like the California condor) generally
contain less genetic diversity than those consisting of many
populations. |
| Genus |
Group marked by common characteristics; a category of biological
classification ranking between the family and the species,
comprising structurally or phylogenetically related species
or an isolated species exhibiting unusual differentiation,
and being designated by a Latin or latinized capitalized singular
noun |
| Habitat |
|
| Habitat Affinity Database |
Ecoregion, Place, Distribution, Habitat Group and ,Subgroup
VA Fish & Wildlife Info System (VAFWIS)
Literature Review Literature Review Taxonomic Experts Taxonomic
|
| Habitat Diversity |
Habitat diversity refers to the variety of places where
life exists -- coral reefs, old-growth forests in the Pacific
Northwest, tallgrass prairie, coastal wetlands, and many others. |
| HUC |
|
| IAFWA |
International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies |
| Imperilment |
State of endangerment |
| Invasive |
Non-native species that out competes native species for
resources |
| IUCN |
International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources |
| Landform |
|
| Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 |
The domestic law that establishes, or implements, the United
States' commitment to four international conventions (with
Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia) for the protection of a
shared migratory bird resource, each convention protects selected
species of birds that are common to both countries (i.e.,
they occur in both countries at some point during their annual
life cycle). |
| Montane |
|
| Natural Heritage |
The Natural Heritage Program represents a comprehensive
effort to inventory and preserve the animal, plant and natural
community resources of the Commonwealth of Virginia. |
| Natural Succession |
The process by which a habitat recovers from some form of
disturbance, vegetation regrows and changes in predictable
natural patterns after disturbances by farming, timber harvesting,
hurricanes, or fire. |
| NRI |
National Resources Inventory, which is conducted by the
Natural Resources Conservation Service, and is a sample of
land use and natural resource conditions and trends on nonfederal
land, based on statistical data |
| Partners |
Other natural resource agencies and organizations in Virginia
that have a vested interest in the ecological health of the
state and/or maintain large holdings of land. |
| Peripheral |
A peripheral species, or subspecies, is one whose occurrence
in Virginia is at the edge of its natural range, and thus,
may be rare or endangered in Virginia, but not necessarily
in its total range |
| Place |
|
| Population |
Number of individuals of a given species within a given
community |
| Predicted Potential Habitat |
Habitat with characteristics of and in range of a given
species’ essential habitat, but which lacks documented
occurrences of that species |
| Ranks |
|
| Relative Phenological Index (RPI) |
|
| S rank |
State level rank used by the Natural Heritage Division of
the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to
set protection priorities for natural heritage resources (rare
plant and animal species, rare and exemplary natural communities,
and notable geologic features) with ranking criterion involving
the number of populations or occurrences, the number of individuals
in existence at each locality or, if a highly mobile organism,
the total number of individuals; the quality of the occurrences,
the number of protected occurrences; and threats. |
| Savannah (pine or oak) |
Most of the savannah in Virginia is pine savannah. A savannah
is open, ‘park-like’, mature or overmature forest
with a very open understory, free or virtually free of shrubby
layers or understory, but with healthy grass/forb layers.
These conditions are maintained by fire, which prevents deciduous
shrub and tree invasion. In Virginia, savannah occurs largely
in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, and the southeastern portion
of the Piedmont. |
| SBA |
Special Biological Area; sections of Jefferson and Washington
National Forests that have been designated through a cooperative
effort between the U.S. Forest Service and the Virginia Department
of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage;
the designation refers to the presence of one or more rare
species, but not a rare community. |
| Slope position |
|
| Snag |
Snags are standing dead and decaying trees. Many species
use cavities in snags for nesting, and they often provide
an excellent forage base for insectivores. |
| Species |
In the same or like form or kind. For the purposes of the
CWCP, we refer to scientific animal groupings of genus and
then a subgroup called "species." |
| Species Diversity or Biodiversity |
The designation "species" is one level of classification
in a taxonomic hierarchy that includes the genus, the family,
the order, the class, the phylum, and the kingdom. This defines
the variety of life forms on earth. |
| Species of Greatest Conservation Need |
|
| Species Habitat Affinities |
Geophysical characteristics |
| Stakeholders |
Interested members of the Commonwealth of Virginia that
may maintain large landholdings or interested members of the
public. |
| State Special Concern |
A state level status listing of a species, which is not
a legal designation, instead it indicates that the species
is in need of continuous monitoring due 1) only one to a few
known occurrences or low population density, 2) certain traits
or requirements that make it particularly vulnerable to certain
stresses, or 3) other reasons identified by experienced researchers |
| Subspecies |
|
| Talus |
A sloping accumulation of coarse rock fragments at the base
of a cliff |
| Taxonomic Group |
|
| Taxonomy |
|
| Terrestrial Habitat Spatial Library |
Compile or create GIS layers of important habitat variables
for all of Virginia
Specific habitat units of interest can then be mapped using
these variables mapped for
|
| Terrestrial Habitat Spatial Variables
|
Ecoregion
Place (high elevation, montane, submontane, marine) ,
Land cover (ca. 2001 not available)
Elevation
Slope
Aspect
Topographic moisture
Landform/slope position
Geology/lithology
Wetlands
|
| Threatened |
A species that is likely to become endangered within the
foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion
of its range |
| Threats |
Actions or conditions that may cause injury, or damage to
animal species or their habitat |
| Tiers |
|
| Type Locality |
|
| USFWS |
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Vernal Pond (or Pool) |
|
| Watershed |
|
