Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
Glossary
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Arribadas: large groups of Kemp’s Ridleys gather off a particular nesting beach near
Rancho Nuevo, Mexico in the state of Tamaulipas followed by a wave of females that
come ashore and nest in what is known as an “arribada” which means “arrival” in
Spanish
Background extinction: continuous low level of extinction of a species
Bi-National Recovery Plan: developed by NMFS and USFWS and Secretary of
Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico to list specific recovery objectives and
criteria to be met in order to down and delist this species under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 as amended. This was signed in Mexico City on September 22, 2011.
Biodiversity: variety of earth’s species, genes they contain, ecosystems in which they
live, and the ecosystem processes such as energy flow and nutrient cycling that sustain all
life. Also include species, genetic, ecosystem, and functional diversity
Biological evolution: any genetic change in a population that is inherited over sever
generations, may be small or large, noticeable or not so noticeable
Biome: terrestrial regions inhabited by certain types of life, especially vegetation
Biotic potential: capacity for population growth under ideal conditions (those with large
individuals such as elephants have low biotic potential, bacteria has high biotic potential)
Black market: an illegal traffic or trade in officially controlled or scarce commodities
Captive breeding: some or all of wild individuals of critically endangered species are
captured for breeding in captivity with aim or reintroducing offspring into wild
Carbon footprint: amount of carbon dioxide emitted due to the consumption of fossil
fuels by a particular person or group
Early loss: a lot lost early, then little grows later
Ecological diversity: variety of other biological communities interacting with one
another and with their nonliving environment
Ecological niche: describes the way of life of a species that responds to distribution of
resources, competition, predators, and other factors
Ecologically extinct: is reduction of a species to such a low abundance that is still
present in its community but is no longer able to perform its ecological role
Ecosystem diversity: earths variety f deserts, grasslands, forests, mountains, oceans,
lakes, rivers, and wetlands
Ecological niche: total way of life or role of a species in an ecosystem including all
physical, chemical, biological conditions that a species needs to live and reproduce in an
ecosystem
Ecological value: species in ecosystems provide essential ecosystem or natural services
and is important component of natural component
Ecotourism: tourism in exotic, often threatened natural environments to support
conservation efforts and observe wildlife
Egg pulling: collecting wild eggs laid by critically endangered birds, turtles, and other
animals and then hatching them in zoos or research centers
Endangered: so few survivors that it could soon be extinct
Endangered species: species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of
extinction
Endangered Species Act (ESA): identifies and protects endangered species in US and
abroad, continually amended, identifies hotspots
Environmental resistance: all the limiting factors that act together to limit the growth of
a population
Extinction: species of organism that no longer exists on the planet
Functional diversity: variety of processes such as matter cycling and energy flow taking
place within ecosystems as species interact with one another in food chains and webs
Genetic diversity: enables life on earth to adapt to and survive dramatic environmental
changes
Global climate change: a change in the worlds climate
Great BP Oil Spill: oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, largest accidental marine oil spill in
history of petroleum industry after releasing about 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into
almost 68,000 square miles of the gulf
Habitat: place where a population or individual organism normally lives
Habitat degradation: where humans or other species take over or destroy the home of
another species resulting in a site that is displaced and destroyed ultimately reducing
biodiversity
Head starting program: animals are raised in rehabilitated accredited zoos or aquariums
to give them a greater chance of survival than those born in the wild are then released
into their natural habitats after suffering significant declines
Inbreeding: individuals of small population mate with one another, increasing defective
genes
Instrumental value: usefulness to us in providing many of the ecological and economic
services that make up earth’s natural capital
Intrinsic value: value of an organism, species, ecosystem or the earths biodiversity based
on its existence regardless of whether it has many usefulness to humans
Limiting factors: single factor that limits the growth, abundance, or distribution of the
population of a species in an ecosystem
Local extinction: species in no longer found where it once inhabited but is still found
somewhere else in the world
Low genetic variability: when population is minimal, there isn’t a wide variety of
genetic variability or genes
Specific nesting requirements: a characteristic of a species to have certain requirements
to nest such as specific climate, biome, etc.
Nonuse value:
Aesthetic value: can appreciate it for its beauty
Existence value: satisfaction of knowing it exists even if we never get to see them
Bequest value: fact that people will pay to protect some forms of natural capital
for us for the future of the animal
Nutrient cycling: circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment (most
from soil and water) through organisms and back to the environment
Poaching: illegally obtaining endangered species as products through the black market.
Most poachers are not caught and money they can make far outweighs the small risk of
being caught, fined or imprisoned
Point pollution: single identifiable source of pollution
Population: group of individuals of same species that live in the same place at same time
Precautionary principle: take measures to prevent harm if outcomes not fully
established
Restricted breeding range: a species having a historical breeding range of no more than
50,000 k
Restricted range: species that are vulnerable to habitat destruction, if habitat is
destroyed so are they
R-strategist: species that reproduce early in their life span and produce large numbers of
usually small and short-lived offspring in short period
Shrimp trawling: method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water
behind one or more boats, the net that is used is called a trawl. Controversial because of
its environmental impacts
Species diversity: number of different species in an environment (see species richness,
species evenness)
Species evenness: relative abundance of individuals within each of those species
Species richness: number of different species
Survivorship: different life cycle pattern
Turtle Excluder Devices (TED’s): specialized device that allows a captured sea turtle to
escape when caught in a fisherman’s net
Use value: benefit us in form of economic goods and services, ecological services,
recreation, scientific info and continuation of such uses for future
Wilderness: large areas of undeveloped land
World Wildlife Federation (WWF): international non-governmental organization
working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the
environment
Citation
G.T. Miller, S.E. Spoolman (2011), Living in the Environment, Belmont: Brooks Cole
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Density dependent population factors: predation parasitism, infectious disease, and
competition for resources
Habitat fragmentation: the breaking up of a habitat into discrete parts through
modification by human management activities such as road development resulting in the
loss of habitat of a species
HIPPCO:
Habitat loss/degradation
Invasive species
Population/resource use growth
Pollution
Climate change
Overexploitation
Natural selection: how life changes overtime, acts on individuals
Likelihood of a species to survive is based on the random variations in genes and
mutations in genes
If gene pool shrinks, species less likely to survive climate change
Humans causing major background extinction past natural rate
Species diversity is important because increases sustainability of ecosystem
Use values benefit us in form of economic goods and services, ecological services,
recreation, scientific information, and continuation for future
Nonuse values include existence value or satisfaction of knowing species exists even
though we may never witness it. Biodiversity holds aesthetic value such as appreciating
and then bequest value based on fact that people will pay to protect the species