| babesiosis |
a protozoal disease transmitted by ticks and which infects the red-blood cells of animals, causing fever and anaemia. |
|
| bachelor group or herd |
An all-male social group. |
|
| back burn |
a fire that is lit so that it burns into the wind, and therefore burns slowly. These fires are very hot and destructive. Also knownn as a Hot Burn |
|
| bacteria |
simple microscopic organisms that live in soil, water, organic matter, or in the bodies of plants and animals |
|
| baculum |
an elongated body structure found in the penises of all carnivores except Family Hyaenidae. Purpose is to prolong copulation |
|
| banded iron formation |
Sedimentary rock
consisting of alternating layers of fine, white
quartz (silicon dioxide) and black and red
oxides of iron |
|
| baobab |
A very large and very long-lived tree indigenous to Africa. Scientific name:
Adansonia digitata.
This tree is thoroughly examined in the WildlifeCampus Botany Module. It is also the WLC logo. |
|
| barbicules |
tiny hooks that assist in keeping birds feathers together |
|
| barbs |
hooks that assist in keeping birds feathers together. Assisted by barbicules |
|
| basalt |
Fine-grained igneous rock (volcanic)
consisting of plagioclase (calcium aluminium
silicate) and pyroxene (calcium, magnesium,
iron silicate) |
|
| basement |
Rocks, usually granite or related rocks,
that lie beneath the oldest layered rocks
(usually sedimentary) in a region |
|
| basin |
Local depression in the earth’s surface |
|
| batesian mimicry |
when an non-harmful organism mimics a harmful organism E.g. a hover fly that looks very similar to a honey bee |
|
| batholith |
Large body (greater than 100 square km's)
of intrusive igneous rock |
|
| becvol |
Biomass Estimates from Canopy Volume: a computer program used to calculate the amount of browse available to animals |
|
| bees social world |
Bees in society and the environment |
|
| behavioural (social) |
hierarchical order in a population that gives ranking individuals priority of access to essential requirements |
|
| benchmark |
a reference site subjectively chosen to represent a veld in excellent condition |
|
| benthic |
relating to organisms inhabiting the bottom of a body or water |
|
| besnoitiosis |
"elephant skin disease" a protozoal disease causing skin deformations in cattle, wildlife tend to be carriers |
|
| biennials |
plants that have a two - year life cycle |
|
| big "5" |
Elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros. No distinction is made between the white and black rhino species. The term was coined by the hunting fraternity. Refers to an area containing the species. |
|
| bilateral symmetry |
the symmetrical arrangement of a body so that only one plane of dissection will result in two mirror image halves |
|
| biltong |
dried and seasoned meat. Known as 'jerky' |
|
| binocular vision |
The visual field within view of both eyes; the frontally placed eyes of cats and primates have most overlap and best depth perception. |
|
| biodiversity |
describing the diversity of living organisms within a defined community or location, with reference to their numbers |
|
| biogeography |
the study of the geographical distribution of organisms, both past and present |
|
| bioherm |
Mound-like or reef-like structure at sea
built up by marine organisms (e.g. algae, corals) |
|
| biology |
the study of living things |
|
| biomass |
the total weight of all the organisms in an ecosystem or in a portion of it |
|
| biome |
A region or set of regions having characteristic climatic or geographical conditions which determine a specific species composition. e.g. savanna, forest, grassland. |
|
| biosphere |
the entire living component of the planet; it covers almost all the earth and the atmosphere |
|
| biosphere (2) |
Thin envelope around the earth, at or
near its surface, in which life can exist |
|
| biotic |
Biotic describes a living or once living component of a community; for example organisms, such as plants and animals |
|
| biotic factors |
that part of the total environment of an organism which is formed by its interrelationships with other organisms |
|
| bipedal |
walking on two legs |
|
| biuret |
a non-protein nitrogen source included in licks as a protein supplement |
|
| blastoid |
Extinct members of the group of marine
invertebrates known as the Echinodermata,
which had an external shell |
|
| blastular embryo |
Hollow ball of cells formed
in the early stages of the development of
Metazoan animals |
|
| bloat |
a condition whereby gases caused by ruminating become trapped inside an animal, and the animals begins to swell. The condition may lead to death
|
|
| block burning |
a burning programme whereby a fixed pattern of different blocks of vegetation are burnt on a regular basis. |
|
| blousuurvergiftiging |
prussic acid poisoning |
|
| bog |
a wetland ecosystem characterised by the accumulation of peat, acid conditions, and the dominance of sphagnum moss |
|
| bolsters |
humps placed at angles in roads to prevent water from collecting on the road surface |
|
| boma |
an enclosure |
|
| bond pair |
strongly attached male and female life partners, found in many bird and mammal species |
|
| bone meal |
crushed bone, used in supplementary feeding |
|
| booklung |
A sacculate respiratory organ found in some arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders, consisting of several parallel membranous folds arranged like the pages in a book. |
|
| boreal forest |
needle-leafed evergreen or coniferous forest bordering sub-polar regions; also called Taiga |
|
| boss |
the thickened central portion of the horns of ungulate species |
|
| botulism |
a bacterial disease charcaterised by progressive paralysis |
|
| bovid |
Member of the family Bovidae, the hollow-horned ruminants. |
|
| bovine malignant catarrhal fever |
a viral disease causing nasal discharge and frequently death. Wildebeest tend to be carriers of the disease |
|
| brachiopod |
Member of the group of two-shelled
marine invertebrates commonly known as
lamp shells, in which the two shells or valves
are of unequal sizes; superficially similar in
appearance to mussels (which are molluscs) |
|
| bract |
A modified, usually reduced leaflike
structure, normally associated with a flower
or reproductive part of a plant |
|
| braided river |
River with a complex pattern of
channels that diverge and rejoin, separated by
sand or gravel bars; they form in cases where
rivers are supplied with more sediment than
they can effectively transport |
|
| breccia |
Rock consisting of angular fragments set
in a matrix of finer material |
|
| breeding |
the generating, bearing and raising of offspring |
|
| brindled |
Flecked or streaked appearance of the pelt due to light and dark banding of the individual hairs. |
|
| bristling |
Erection of the hair, thereby making an animal appear bigger. |
|
| browse |
The edible leaves of trees and shrubs |
|
| browse unit |
a kudu weighing 140 kg that only eats leaves (browse) |
|
| browser |
any animal that eats predominantly browse material |
|
| browser unit (bu) |
a unit of measure used to equate all browsers. Defined as a kudu of 140 kg which browses exclusively |
|
| brucellosis |
a bacterial disease which causes animals to suffer abortions |
|
| bryophyte |
a group of non-vascular plants e.g. moss and liverworts |
|
| bulk feeder / grazer |
an animal that consumes a large amount of grass and does so without selecting specific species |
|
| bulk grazer |
a grazing animal that is non-selective regarding species and length of grass grazed |
|
| bush encroachment |
an increase in shrub, thicket or tree growth to the detriment of valuable grazing areas. Thus may be caused by overgrazing |
|
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