Vocabulary

amphibian - Noun.  A group of cold-blooded animals that live in the water when they are young and live on land when they are an adult.  Frogs and salamanders are amphibians.

amphibious - Adjective.  Having to do with both land and water.

backwaters - Noun.  A body of water (like a stream) that is set apart from a larger body of water. 

blunt - Adjective.  Having a point that is not sharp, but rounded. 

buffer - Noun.  A barrier that protects something. 

burrow - Verb.  To dig a hole in the ground for shelter. 

buttress - Noun.  A support that sticks out to help hold something up. 

cypress "knee" - Noun.  A special root that many swamp trees develop.  The knee sticks up out of the water.  It may help hold the tree up or provide air to the rest of the roots.

detritus - Noun.  Any partly broken down plant or animal matter.

erosion – Noun.  The act of breaking down and wearing away rocks by water, wind, or ice; Verb form: to erode. 

filter - Noun.  Something that cleans water that passes through it by removing pollution and other matter. 

food web - Noun.  The movement of food energy through a natural community.  For example: Green plants use light to make food.  Insects eat the green plants.  Fish eat the insects.  Wading birds eat the fish.  

heavy metal - Noun.  A metal with a high specific gravity; often a harmful metal, like lead or mercury.  

invertebrate - Noun.  An animal that does not have a spine. 

nocturnal - Adjective.  Sleeps during the day and is active at night. 

nutrient - Noun.  A chemical substance that living things need to live and grow.  Too many nutrients can pollute water.

organ - Noun.  A structure in an organism that is made up of cells and tissues and has a specific function. 

pollutant - Noun.  A waste material that makes the air, soil, or water dirty. 

prehistoric - Adjective.  Of the time before the earliest oral or written human history. 

reptile - Noun.  A cold-blooded animal that breathes air and has a body covered with scales or bony plates. 

riverine - Adjective.  Related to, formed by, or like a river; Living on the banks of a river. 

sediment - Noun.  Eroded rock material that is laid down in layers by water, wind, or glaciers. 

shoreline - Noun.  The edge of a body of water. 

snout - Noun.  A long nose that sticks out from the rest of the head. 

stalk - Noun.  A part of a plant that supports another part.