Photo courtesy of Courtney Miller

Glossary of Terms

Broadcast spawning - Both male and female gametes are released into the sea for the male gamete to fertilize the female gamete

Desiccation - The process of drying out

Dichotomous - Branching into two unequal parts of a blade

Eutrophication - Pollution caused by runoff from industry or agriculture

Medicinal Organisms - Organisms that can be used to create medicine

Monopodial - Growth of an organism upward (also called primary growth)

Parenchymatous - Tissues of higher organisms that consists of thin-walled living photosynthetic or storage cells capable of division even after the organism has reached full maturity and that makes up much of the organism

Polyspermy - The fertilization of an egg by two sperm, leading to the death of the possible offspring

Pronucleus - The nucleus of a sperm or egg cell just before fusion, the cell is haploid (1n) at this point

 

Home            Next: About the Author