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Saving our southern species glossary

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antibiotics
Medical drugs used to kill bacteria and treat infections.

anti-inflammatories
A medicine used to reduce inflammation or swelling

awa
River or stream

bacteria
Very small (single-cell) organisms.

biodiversity
The number and variety of living things found within a region. From the two words 'biological' and 'diversity'.

disease
An illness which affects people, animals, or plants, for example one which is caused by bacteria or infection.

endemic
Unique to a place an not found anywhere else.

ecosystem
A community of living things and the environment in which they live.

environment
All the external factors influencing the life and activities of people, plants, and animals e.g. other animals and plants, water, soils, weather, daylight.

fauna
Animal life in general. flora Plant life in general.

food chain
An arrangement of organisms in a community according to which organism is eaten or eats another. Food chains always start with a plant (or plants).

food web
A system of food chains linked to one another. habitat The home or surroundings of an organism e.g. river.

genus
Set of closely related species (plural = genera).

habitat
The natural home of a plant or animal.

introduced species
A plant or animal that has been brought by people to an area where it did not naturally live.

invertebrate
Any animal that does not have a spinal cord at any stage of its life such as worms, insects, spiders, crustaceans and molluscs.

microbe
Microscopic organism. native Naturally found in a location, but may be found in more than one country.

niche
How an organism makes a living. It describes things such as an organism's life history, its habitat, its position in a food chain and food web and its geographic range. No two species can occupy the same niche in the same environment for a long time.

organism
An individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist or fungus.

population
All the members of a species living in the same area and able to breed together.

predator
An animal that kills or eats other animals.

rehabilitate
To help a patient to live a normal life again.

riparian
Situated or taking place along or near the bank of a river.

species
Animals of the same type. The members of the same species are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

stressors
Ecosystem stressors are physical, chemical, and biological factors that impact the health and function of ecosystems. Stressors can be natural, such as storms and fires or caused by people, such as climate change and pollution.

sustainable
Using natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area. urbanisation The development and modification of a once natural landscape for human settlement.

triage
The process of quickly examining sick or injured patients so that those who are in the most serious condition can be treated first.

x-ray
A type of radiation that can pass through most solid materials. X-rays are used by doctors to examine the bones or organs inside a body.