Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources
The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all resources in the total environment.
Ecosystem
A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)
Trees
Woody, usually tall, perennial higher plants (Angiosperms, Gymnosperms, and some Pterophyta) having usually a main stem and numerous branches.
Tropical Climate
A climate which is typical of equatorial and tropical regions, i.e., one with continually high temperatures with considerable precipitation, at least during part of the year. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)
Geography
Population Dynamics
Oceans and Seas
Ecology
The branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their ENVIRONMENT, especially as manifested by natural cycles and rhythms, community development and structure, interactions between different kinds of organisms, geographic distributions, and population alterations. (Webster's, 3d ed)
Marine Biology
The study of the origin, structure, development, growth, function, genetics, and reproduction of organisms which inhabit the OCEANS AND SEAS.
Informatics
Endangered Species
An animal or plant species in danger of extinction. Causes can include human activity, changing climate, or change in predator/prey ratios.
Species Specificity
The restriction of a characteristic behavior, anatomical structure or physical system, such as immune response; metabolic response, or gene or gene variant to the members of one species. It refers to that property which differentiates one species from another but it is also used for phylogenetic levels higher or lower than the species.
DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic
Techniques for standardizing and expediting taxonomic identification or classification of organisms that are based on deciphering the sequence of one or a few regions of DNA known as the "DNA barcode".
Biomass
Environment
Climate Change
Any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). It may result from natural factors such as changes in the sun's intensity, natural processes within the climate system such as changes in ocean circulation, or human activities.
Birds
Warm-blooded VERTEBRATES possessing FEATHERS and belonging to the class Aves.
Classification
Plants
Multicellular, eukaryotic life forms of kingdom Plantae (sensu lato), comprising the VIRIDIPLANTAE; RHODOPHYTA; and GLAUCOPHYTA; all of which acquired chloroplasts by direct endosymbiosis of CYANOBACTERIA. They are characterized by a mainly photosynthetic mode of nutrition; essentially unlimited growth at localized regions of cell divisions (MERISTEMS); cellulose within cells providing rigidity; the absence of organs of locomotion; absence of nervous and sensory systems; and an alternation of haploid and diploid generations.
Agriculture
The science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.
Fishes
A group of cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates having gills, fins, a cartilaginous or bony endoskeleton, and elongated bodies covered with scales.
Rivers
Large natural streams of FRESH WATER formed by converging tributaries and which empty into a body of water (lake or ocean).
Biota
Climate
Introduced Species
Non-native organisms brought into a region, habitat, or ECOSYSTEM by human activity.
Mediterranean Sea
*Medically unexceptional, the Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental body of water that separates Southern Europe from Northern Africa and the Middle East, infamous for historical epidemics like plague, which have significantly shaped human health history.*
Food Chain
The sequence of transfers of matter and energy from organism to organism in the form of FOOD. Food chains intertwine locally into a food web because most organisms consume more than one type of animal or plant. PLANTS, which convert SOLAR ENERGY to food by PHOTOSYNTHESIS, are the primary food source. In a predator chain, a plant-eating animal is eaten by a larger animal. In a parasite chain, a smaller organism consumes part of a larger host and may itself be parasitized by smaller organisms. In a saprophytic chain, microorganisms live on dead organic matter.
Geological Phenomena
Wetlands
Environments or habitats at the interface between truly terrestrial ecosystems and truly aquatic systems making them different from each yet highly dependent on both. Adaptations to low soil oxygen characterize many wetland species.
Seawater
The salinated water of OCEANS AND SEAS that provides habitat for marine organisms.
Amphibians
VERTEBRATES belonging to the class amphibia such as frogs, toads, newts and salamanders that live in a semiaquatic environment.
Fisheries
Netherlands Antilles
Former Netherlands overseas territory in the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. It had included the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius, and the southern part of St. Martin. The Netherlands Antilles dissolved on October 10, 2010. Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten became autonomous territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are under the direct administration of the Netherlands. (From US Department of State, Background Note)
Madagascar
One of the Indian Ocean Islands off the southeast coast of Africa. Its capital is Antananarivo. It was formerly called the Malagasy Republic. Discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, its history has been tied predominantly to the French, becoming a French protectorate in 1882, a French colony in 1896, and a territory within the French union in 1946. The Malagasy Republic was established in the French Community in 1958 but it achieved independence in 1960. Its name was changed to Madagascar in 1975. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p714)
Crops, Agricultural
Cultivated plants or agricultural produce such as grain, vegetables, or fruit. (From American Heritage Dictionary, 1982)
Biological Evolution
Phylogeography
Soil
The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.
New Caledonia
A group of islands in Melanesia constituting a French overseas territory. The group includes New Caledonia (the main island), Ile des Pins, Loyalty Island, and several other islet groups. The capital is Noumea. It was discovered by Captain Cook in 1774 and visited by various navigators, explorers, and traders from 1792 to 1840. Occupied by the French in 1853, it was set up as a penal colony 1864-94. In 1946 it was made a French overseas territory. It was named by Captain Cook with the 5th and 6th century A.D. Latin name for Scotland, Caledonia. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p830 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p375)
Panama
Ponds
Inland bodies of standing FRESHWATER usually smaller than LAKES. They can be man-made or natural but there is no universal agreement as to their exact size. Some consider a pond to be a small body of water that is shallow enough for sunlight to reach the bottom.
Genetic Speciation
Fossils
Remains, impressions, or traces of animals or plants of past geological times which have been preserved in the earth's crust.
Greenhouse Effect
The effect of GLOBAL WARMING and the resulting increase in world temperatures. The predicted health effects of such long-term climatic change include increased incidence of respiratory, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases.
Plant Development
Processes orchestrated or driven by a plethora of genes, plant hormones, and inherent biological timing mechanisms facilitated by secondary molecules, which result in the systematic transformation of plants and plant parts, from one stage of maturity to another.
Hygiene Hypothesis
Eutrophication
The enrichment of a terrestrial or aquatic ECOSYSTEM by the addition of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, that results in a superabundant growth of plants, ALGAE, or other primary producers. It can be a natural process or result from human activity such as agriculture runoff or sewage pollution. In aquatic ecosystems, an increase in the algae population is termed an algal bloom.
Anthozoa
Poaceae
Mediterranean Region
The MEDITERRANEAN SEA, the MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS, and the countries bordering on the sea collectively.
Climatic Processes
Characteristic events occurring in the ATMOSPHERE during the interactions and transformation of various atmospheric components and conditions.
Wilderness
Sequence Analysis, DNA
South America
I'm sorry for any confusion, but there seems to be a misunderstanding as "South America" is not a medical term and cannot have a medical definition. It is a geographical term referring to the southern portion of the American continent, consisting of twelve independent countries and three territories of other nations.
Natural History
A former branch of knowledge embracing the study, description, and classification of natural objects (as animals, plants, and minerals) and thus including the modern sciences of zoology, botany, and mineralogy insofar as they existed at that time. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries it was much used for the generalized pursuit of certain areas of science. (Webster, 3d ed; from Dr. James H. Cassedy, NLM History of Medicine Division)
Urbanization
Nature
Eukaryota
One of the three domains of life (the others being BACTERIA and ARCHAEA), also called Eukarya. These are organisms whose cells are enclosed in membranes and possess a nucleus. They comprise almost all multicellular and many unicellular organisms, and are traditionally divided into groups (sometimes called kingdoms) including ANIMALS; PLANTS; FUNGI; and various algae and other taxa that were previously part of the old kingdom Protista.
Models, Biological
Models, Theoretical
Coral Reefs
Indian Ocean
A body of water covering approximately one-fifth of the total ocean area of the earth, extending amidst Africa in the west, Australia in the east, Asia in the north, and Antarctica in the south. Including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, it constitutes the third largest ocean after the ATLANTIC OCEAN and the PACIFIC OCEAN. (New Encyclopaedia Britannica Micropaedia, 15th ed, 1990, p289)
Antarctic Regions
The continent lying around the South Pole and the southern waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. It includes the Falkland Islands Dependencies. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p55)
Gastropoda
Museums
Phytoplankton
Free-floating minute organisms that are photosynthetic. The term is non-taxonomic and refers to a lifestyle (energy utilization and motility), rather than a particular type of organism. Most, but not all, are unicellular algae. Important groups include DIATOMS; DINOFLAGELLATES; CYANOBACTERIA; CHLOROPHYTA; HAPTOPHYTA; CRYPTOMONADS; and silicoflagellates.
Intellectual Property
Property, such as patents, trademarks, and copyright, that results from creative effort. The Patent and Copyright Clause (Art. 1, Sec. 8, cl. 8) of the United States Constitution provides for promoting the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. (From Black's Law Dictionary, 5th ed, p1014)
Water Movements
The flow of water in enviromental bodies of water such as rivers, oceans, water supplies, aquariums, etc. It includes currents, tides, and waves.
Environmental Monitoring
The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.
Animal Distribution
Amphipoda
An order of mostly marine CRUSTACEA containing more than 5500 species in over 100 families. Like ISOPODA, the other large order in the superorder Peracarida, members are shrimp-like in appearance, have sessile compound eyes, and no carapace. But unlike Isopoda, they possess thoracic gills and their bodies are laterally compressed.
Butterflies
Slender-bodies diurnal insects having large, broad wings often strikingly colored and patterned.
Costa Rica
('Costa Rica' in medical context is not a defined term) However, in general context, Costa Rica is a country located in Central America, known for its advanced healthcare system and high life expectancy, which could be relevant to various medical or health-related discussions.
Plant Physiological Phenomena
The physiological processes, properties, and states characteristic of plants.
Animals, Wild
Paraguay
I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Paraguay" is not a medical term and does not have a medical definition. Paraguay is a country located in the central part of South America, bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Bolivia to the north and west, and Brazil to the east and northeast. If you have any questions related to medical terminology or health-related topics, I would be happy to help!
Beetles
Estuaries
A partially enclosed body of water, and its surrounding coastal habitats, where saltwater from the ocean mixes with fresh water from rivers or streams. The resulting mixture of seawater and fresh water is called brackish water and its salinity can range from 0.5 to 35 ppt. (accessed http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/estuaries01_whatis.html)
Bacteria
One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.
Reptiles
Cold-blooded, air-breathing VERTEBRATES belonging to the class Reptilia, usually covered with external scales or bony plates.
Pacific Ocean
Brazil
I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Brazil" is not a medical term or concept, it is a country located in South America, known officially as the Federative Republic of Brazil. If you have any questions related to health, medicine, or science, I'd be happy to help answer those!
Geologic Sediments
A mass of organic or inorganic solid fragmented material, or the solid fragment itself, that comes from the weathering of rock and is carried by, suspended in, or dropped by air, water, or ice. It refers also to a mass that is accumulated by any other natural agent and that forms in layers on the earth's surface, such as sand, gravel, silt, mud, fill, or loess. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed, p1689)
Global Warming
Increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns.
Angiosperms
Members of the group of vascular plants which bear flowers. They are differentiated from GYMNOSPERMS by their production of seeds within a closed chamber (OVARY, PLANT). The Angiosperms division is composed of two classes, the monocotyledons (Liliopsida) and dicotyledons (Magnoliopsida). Angiosperms represent approximately 80% of all known living plants.
Desert Climate
Crustacea
A large subphylum of mostly marine ARTHROPODS containing over 42,000 species. They include familiar arthropods such as lobsters (NEPHROPIDAE), crabs (BRACHYURA), shrimp (PENAEIDAE), and barnacles (THORACICA).
Remote Sensing Technology
Eichhornia
Seaweed
Multicellular marine macroalgae including some members of red (RHODOPHYTA), green (CHLOROPHYTA), and brown (PHAEOPHYTA) algae. They are widely distributed in the ocean, occurring from the tide level to considerable depths, free-floating (planktonic) or anchored to the substratum (benthic). They lack a specialized vascular system but take up fluids, nutrients, and gases directly from the water. They contain CHLOROPHYLL and are photosynthetic, but some also contain other light-absorbing pigments. Many are of economic importance as FOOD, fertilizer, AGAR, potash, or source of IODINE.
Atlantic Ocean
I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "Atlantic Ocean" is a geographical term referring to one of the world's five oceans, covering approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and separating the continents of Europe and Africa to the east from those of North and South America to the west. It doesn't have a direct medical definition, as it is not a medical term.
Insects
The class Insecta, in the phylum ARTHROPODA, whose members are characterized by division into three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. They are the dominant group of animals on earth; several hundred thousand different kinds having been described. Three orders, HEMIPTERA; DIPTERA; and SIPHONAPTERA; are of medical interest in that they cause disease in humans and animals. (From Borror et al., An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 4th ed, p1)
Ferns
Seedless nonflowering plants of the class Filicinae. They reproduce by spores that appear as dots on the underside of feathery fronds. In earlier classifications the Pteridophyta included the club mosses, horsetails, ferns, and various fossil groups. In more recent classifications, pteridophytes and spermatophytes (seed-bearing plants) are classified in the Subkingdom Tracheobionta (also known as Tracheophyta).
Rain
Water particles that fall from the ATMOSPHERE.
Borneo
Animal Migration
Altitude
Carbon
Environmental Policy
A course of action or principle adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual that concerns human interactions with nature and natural resources.
Databases, Factual
Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.
Raptors
BIRDS that hunt and kill other animals, especially higher vertebrates, for food. They include the FALCONIFORMES order, or diurnal birds of prey, comprised of EAGLES, falcons, HAWKS, and others, as well as the STRIGIFORMES order, or nocturnal birds of prey, which includes OWLS.
Vertebrates
Animals having a vertebral column, members of the phylum Chordata, subphylum Craniata comprising mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.
Mammals
Arthropods
Members of the phylum Arthropoda, composed of organisms having a hard, jointed exoskeleton and paired jointed legs. It includes the class INSECTS and the subclass ARACHNIDA, many species of which are important medically as parasites or as vectors of organisms capable of causing disease in man.
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Soil Microbiology
Earth Sciences
Fields of science encompassing studies and research from the disciplines of PHYSICS; CHEMISTRY; BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; and MATHEMATICS; that are related to the planet EARTH. Subfields include atmospheric chemistry; CLIMATOLOGY; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; GEOGRAPHY; GEOLOGY; geophysics; METEOROLOGY; OCEANOGRAPHY; PALEONTOLOGY; mineralogy; and seismology.
Geology
Ants
Insects of the family Formicidae, very common and widespread, probably the most successful of all the insect groups. All ants are social insects, and most colonies contain three castes, queens, males, and workers. Their habits are often very elaborate and a great many studies have been made of ant behavior. Ants produce a number of secretions that function in offense, defense, and communication. (From Borror, et al., An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 4th ed, p676)
Plant Dispersal
The physical distribution of plants in various forms and stages of development through time and space.
Lakes
Inland bodies of still or slowly moving FRESH WATER or salt water, larger than a pond, and supplied by RIVERS and streams.
Wood
A product of hard secondary xylem composed of CELLULOSE, hemicellulose, and LIGNANS, that is under the bark of trees and shrubs. It is used in construction and as a source of CHARCOAL and many other products.
Microclimate
The climate of a very small area.
Predatory Behavior
Evolution, Molecular
Seasons
Environmental Pollution
Contamination of the air, bodies of water, or land with substances that are harmful to human health and the environment.
Herbivory
The act of feeding on plants by animals.
Bays
New Guinea
Originally an island of the Malay Archipelago, the second largest island in the world. It divided, West New Guinea becoming part of Indonesia and East New Guinea becoming Papua New Guinea.
Atmosphere
RNA, Ribosomal, 18S
Fertilizers
DNA, Mitochondrial
Demography
Social Planning
Interactional process combining investigation, discussion, and agreement by a number of people in the preparation and carrying out of a program to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community. It usually involves the action of a formal political, legal, or recognized voluntary body.
Plankton
Community of tiny aquatic PLANTS and ANIMALS, and photosynthetic BACTERIA, that are either free-floating or suspended in the water, with little or no power of locomotion. They are divided into PHYTOPLANKTON and ZOOPLANKTON.
Lichens
Any of a group of plants formed by a symbiotic combination of a fungus with an algae or CYANOBACTERIA, and sometimes both. The fungal component makes up the bulk of the lichen and forms the basis for its name.
Ecuador
I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Ecuador" is a country in South America and not a medical term. The term you might be looking for is "ecdysone," which is a hormone found in arthropods that controls their molting process.
Carbon Sequestration
Any of several processes for the permanent or long-term artificial or natural capture or removal and storage of carbon dioxide and other forms of carbon, through biological, chemical or physical processes, in a manner that prevents it from being released into the atmosphere.
Sikkim
I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Sikkim" is not a medical term that has a definition in the field of medicine. It is actually a state in northeastern India, located in the Himalayan mountains. If you have any questions about geographical or political terms, I would be happy to try and help with those as well.
International Cooperation
DNA, Ribosomal
Australia
Kelp
Large, robust forms of brown algae (PHAEOPHYCEAE) in the order Laminariales. They are a major component of the lower intertidal and sublittoral zones on rocky coasts in temperate and polar waters. Kelp, a kind of SEAWEED, usually refers to species in the genera LAMINARIA or MACROCYSTIS, but the term may also be used for species in FUCUS or Nereocystis.
North America
While there isn't a specific medical definition for "North America," I can provide a geographical definition that is often used in public health and medical contexts: North America is the third largest continent by area, encompassing 23 independent states, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which are home to diverse populations, cultures, and ecosystems, and share common health-related challenges such as obesity, diabetes, and healthcare access disparities.
Internationality
Bayes Theorem
A theorem in probability theory named for Thomas Bayes (1702-1761). In epidemiology, it is used to obtain the probability of disease in a group of people with some characteristic on the basis of the overall rate of that disease and of the likelihood of that characteristic in healthy and diseased individuals. The most familiar application is in clinical decision analysis where it is used for estimating the probability of a particular diagnosis given the appearance of some symptoms or test result.
Europe
Caribbean Region
The area that lies between continental North and South America and comprises the Caribbean Sea, the West Indies, and the adjacent mainland regions of southern Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela.
Argentina
I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "Argentina" is not a medical concept or condition that has a defined meaning within the medical field. Argentina is actually the second largest country in South America, and is known for its rich cultural history, diverse landscapes, and significant contributions to fields such as science, arts, and sports. If you have any questions related to healthcare, medicine, or biology, I would be happy to try to help answer those!