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SE Glossary...; ... any suggestions?
Topic Started: May 8 2010, 12:28 PM (1,828 Views)
Ddraig Goch
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Ar hyd y nos

For my updated Vabmojan website, I am planning on including a glossary, filled with speculative evolution-related words. I thought I'd make it novice-friendly, and include words such as "carnivore", "habitat", and so on.

Below is a list. If anyone could add to it, I'd be very grateful.

Evolution - the theory that the various existing lifeforms are derived from preexisting types through natural selection
DNA - abbr deoxyribonucleic acid, which occurs in the nucleus of cells, and is the material that makes up genes
Carnivore - an animal that eats other animals in order to survive
Herbivore - an animal that eats plants in order to survive
Omnivore - an animal that eats both plants and animals in order to survive
Piscivore - a carnivore that eats specifically fish in order to survive
Detrivore - an animal that eats dead plant or animal matter in order to survive
Insectivore - a carnivore that feeds specifically on insects in order to survive
Frugivore - a herbivore that feeds mainly on fruit in order to survive
Xylophagous - an animal that eats wood and plant matter in order to survive
Primary Consumer - see herbivore
Tertiary Consumer - see carnivore
Primary/ Tertiary Consumer - see omnivore
Browser - a herbivore that feeds on the leaves of trees or shrubs
Grazer - a herbivore that feeds on grasses
Carrion - the remains of a dead animal
Biota - the lifeforms within a specific time or place, eg. the biota of the Jurassic Period
Environment - the local surroundings
Habitat - the place, or type of place, where a lifeform naturally grows or lives
Population - a group of individuals of the same species, that live in one area and interbreed
Predator - a lifeform that lives by hunting, killing, and eating other lifeforms
Prey - a lifeform that is hunted by a predator
Apex Predator - the top predator in an environment, that is not preyed upon by any other creature
Biome - a region of distinct lifeforms, such as the rainforests or oceans
Ecosystem - a collection of different species living in the same habitat
Migration - when a species travels to a new location or habitat
Circular Migration - when a species migrates to a new location for part of the year, before returning to its original habitat
Partial Migration - within a species, when one population migrates, but another doesn't
Epiphyte - a plant that grows on another plant as structural support, such as a bromeliad. They are not parasetic.
Zooplantae - lifeforms that exibit characteristics of both plants and animals - colloquially known as planimals
Xenobiology - the study of alien lifeforms. Also known as exobiology
Xenobotany - the study of alien plants
Bauplan - the bodily design of a lifeforms, eg number of legs
Endothermic - able to maitain a constant body temperature regardless of external conditions
Exothermic - having a body temperature that depends on the environment
Gene - a section of a DNA molecule, which determines the physical characteristics of a lifeform
Genotype - the gene types specific to a lifeform
Phenotype - the physical atributes the genotype produces
Aerial - a lifeform that spends most of its life in the air
Arboreal - a lifeform that spends most of its' life in the trees
Terrestrial - a lifeform that spends its life on the ground
Aquatic - a lifeform that spends its life in a liquid environment
Asexual Reproduction - a form of reproduction that involves just one parent
Sexual Reproduction - a form of reproduction that involves two or more parents
Parthenogenesis - a form of reproduction in which an egg develops into a fetus without having to be fertilized
Convergent Evolution - when two unrelated species evolve similar adaptations, due to similar environmental pressures
Bilateral Symmetry - a form of symmetry in which the body consists of two equal halves, on either side of a midline
Radial Symmetry - a form of symmetry in which the body is shaped like a wheel, often with the mouth at the centre
Bipedal - moving on two legs, or having just two limbs
Quadropedal - moving on four legs, or having just four limbs
Hexopedal - moving on six legs, or having just six limbs
Plantigrade - a creature that moves about on the soles of its feet
Digitigrade - a creature that moves about on its toes
Unguligrade - a creature that moves around on hooves
Parasite - a lifeform that lives on or inside another, and feeds either on the host, or on the food that the host has swallowed
Hyperparasite - a parasite that attacks another parasite
Parasitoid - a lifeform that is parasetic for its infancy, but becomes free-living during adulthood
Camouflage - clours or patterns that allow a lifeform to merge with its surroundings
Batesian Mimicry - when an animal looks like a more dangerous animal in order to escape predation
Diurnal - active during the day
Nocturnal - active at night
Crepuscular - active during twilight hours
Vertebrate - an animal with a backbone, or spinal chord
Invertebrate - an animal without a backbone or spinal chord
Colony - a group of animals , belonging to the same species, that live together and divide up their tasks in order to survive
Eusocial - animals, such as termites, that form colonies
Zooid - an individual in a colony
Gestalt - a species whose individuals cannot function on their own, but require other members of their species in order to survive
Symbiosis - a partnership between two members of different species, in which both gain
Neotony - species that, in adulthood, retain the characteristics of their young, such as the axolotl
Atavism - when characteristics from ancestral species appear in modern species, often as a freak mutation
Vestigial - an organ or limb that has atrophied and is now non-functional, eg. the "arms" of Tyrannosaurus Rex
Sapience - often defined as wisdom - a term given to "intelligent" species, eg. Homo Sapiens
Sentience - the ability to sense or percieve ones' surroundings
Respiration - the transport of oxygen around the body
Gaiocentrism - the belief that alien organisms must looks like Terran lifeforms, because "if it hasn't evolved on Earth, it won't evolve elsewhere".
Xenocentrism - the belief that alien organisms must be completely to Terran lifeforms



That's all for now, but again, any suggestions as to what I could add to it would be helpful.
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Pando
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Why not add Primary Consumer (herbivores), Primary/Tertiary Consumers (omnivores), and Tertiary/Quarternary Consumers (carnivores)? That's what I do for the Postozoic. And it doesn't specify what they eat, so you don't have to learn terms like piscivore, insectivore, frugivore, and so on.

Mind if I use it for the Postozoic?
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Ddraig Goch
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Well, I thought that perhaps everyone could benefit, if the glossary was put on the Wiki, or even on this site itself. But you can use it if you want. :) Of course, first the definitions have to be added...
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Holben
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Yes! On SECW! Great idea.

How about sapience, sentience and sophontism? Gestalts, ganglia, spiracles, respiration, etc.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Pando
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What exactly is sophontism?

You can put Neoteny and Atavism.
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Holben
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Sophontism is basically sapience. But T. Neo will probably be angry at my saying that.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Ddraig Goch
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Added a few words. Keep 'em coming!

I should probably start adding definitions...
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Holben
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Meh... no gestalts?
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Ddraig Goch
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Well, I can't really find much on them... wikipedia descibes them as a field of psycology...
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Holben
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Does it? Well, it's basically a superorganism or conglomerate of minds, like a hive collective.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Ddraig Goch
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Fair enough, I'll add that later.

I've now added the definitions to the words already up there.
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Ddraig Goch
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I've added some more words. I've still yet to find a clear definition of "gestalts".

Again, if anyone has any suggestions for more words, I'd be very grateful.
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Holben
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:ermm: Yay! Found a good definition. In science, it means

Quote:
 
ge·stalt 
1. a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole.
2. an instance or example of such a unified whole.


From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gestalt
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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Ddraig Goch
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So essentially, the Borg are gestalt?
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Holben
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Yup.
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

"It is the old wound my king. It has never healed."
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