Glossary

Acid(ic)- see pH

Acidification -The process of becoming more acid

Acidophillic - to prefer or exist in an acidic environment

Algae -Collective name of a large group of chlorophyll-containing plants, compromising the
seaweeds and various freshwater forms, ranging in size from single cells to long stems

Algal Bloom -Dramatic increase in algal growth resulting from high levels of nutrients or
pollutants

Alkaline- see pH

Alluvial- Formed by river flow processes e.g. alluvial plain

Alluvium- Sediment deposited by flowing water

Anadromous Fish- Fish that migrate from the sea into rivers or into coastal waters to spawn

Anaerobic- (also Anoxic) Lacking oxygen; anaerobic organisms need and environment without
oxygen

Aquaculture -Fish or seafood farming

Aquatic plants:- Emergent Plants Such as sedges, reeds and rushes, rooted in the sediment and protruding above the water surface

1.Free-Floating Plants -Such as water fern, floating at the water surface

2.Floating-Leafed Plants- Such as waterlilies, rooted in the sediment with leaves floating on the water surface

3.Submerged Plants -Such as najas growing below the water surface

Aquifer-An underground layer of rock, sand or gravel which holds water and allows water to
percolate through

Bedrock -Unbroken solid rock, usually overlaid by rock fragments or soil

Benthic Organisms- Organisms attached to or rooted in the substratum at the bottom of a water
body

Billabongs- An Australian term for pools associated with a channel that is isolated from the river
in the dry season. Strictly the term refers to Oxbow Lakes

Biomass -The amount (weight) of living material (plants or animals)

Biota- Animal and plant life

Blue-Green Algae -Cyanobacteria

Brackish -Slightly salty

Cyanobacteria -Single-cell of filamentous organisms, also known as Blue-Green Algae that are
able to convert atmospheric nitrogen into forms that can be utilized for plant growth

Deoxygenation- Depletion of oxygen

Diatoms- Single-celled algae found in most waters. Each cell is surrounded by two overlapping
silica plates that show characteristic patterns. Diatoms are very important in food chains and are
extremely productive.

Dissolved Oxygen- Amount of oxygen in water

Drainage Basin- Also termed watershed, a region or area of land surface that is drained by a
river or stream

Emergent - To stick out of or rise above a surface

Endemic Species -Species that are unique to one region, i.e. they are found no where else in
the world.

Epiphytes- Plants or animals that grow on plants. The host plants are used only as support, not
as a source for nutrients.

Eukaryotic Organisms,- either single-celled or multicellular, whose cells contain a nucleus with
surrounding membrane. Their cells also contain other organelle, and their genetic information is
organized in chromosomes.

Eutrophication Nutrient- (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) enrichment of a water body.

Evaporation -Loss of water from a free water surface pr from the soil surface by vaporization.

Evapotranspiration -The combined loss of water by Evaporation and Transpiration.

Halobacteria -Bacteria adapted to saline conditions

Herbaeous Plants -Herb-like plants (as opposed to grasses)

Herbivorous -Feeding on plants

Hydrology -The study of the cycle of water movement on, over, and through the surface of the
earth.

Hydrophobic - Does no absorb water

Hydrophillic - Attracts and absorbs water

Hydrid - Water based

Hypersaline -Containing high concentrations of salt. Hypersaline lakes, for example, are saltier
than seawater.

Insectivorous -Feeding on insects

Inter-tidal -The area between the high and low water marks which is exposed at low tide.

Invertebrate -Animals without back bones, such as insects and crustaceans.

Lacustrine -Living or occurring on or in lakes; also: of a lake as is lacustrine floodplain.

Leaching -The process of nutrients being washed down through the soil into the groundwater.

Littoral Zone -The area extending from the high water mark into the water as far as the limit of
the zone where Photosynthesis exceeds Respiration.

Levee -Raised bank along a river or Riverine floodplain.

Macrophytes -Literally ‘big plants’, used to describe water plants other than microscopic algae

Meandering -Winding or bending in river beds; usually erosion occurs on the outer bend, while
some sediment is deposited on the inner bend. This can lead to the meander being cut off and
the river changing its channel.

Mottles - Yellow-Red-Brown blotches or patches in soil caused by a raising and falling water table

Nutrient Loading -The amount of nutrients available over a time period.

Oligotrophic -see Trophic Status

Oxbow Lakes -Lakes formed in riverbeds, when a bend in a Meandering river is cut off from the
main stream.

Oxidation -Release of electrons or hydrogen ions. This reaction releases energy.

PCBs -(Polychlorinated biphenyl’s) A class of chemicals used as electrical insulators. PCBs
persist in the environment and accumulate through the foodchain.

Peat -Dead plants material that has accumulated for a long time. It forms where the natural cycle
of plant production and decomposition is disrupted under waterlogged.

pH -A measure of acidity of water, in which pH7 is neutral, values above 7 are alkaline and
values below 7 acid. The ocean has pH of about 8, an alkaline lake might be pH 10, and acid
bog pH 3.5.

Photosynthesis -The complex process carried out by plants and some bacteria in which light
energy absorbed by the pigment chlorophyll is used to convert water carbon dioxide on to sugar, oxygen is released.

Phytoplankton -The plant component of plankton.

Plankton -Small organisms suspended in the water column. The plants are called
Phytoplankton, the animals Zooplankton.

Prokaryotic -Primitive organisms whose cells do not contain nuclei or cell organelles, and whose
genetic information is not organized into chromosomes.

Reduction -Uptake of electrons or hydrogen ions. This process consumes energy.

Respiration -The process by which the energy of organic material is made available to drive
energy-consuming processes in the cell, such as the formation of cell walls, proteins, or cell
movement. Carried out by plants (phyto-), animals (zoo-), and bacteria (microbial respiration), it
can be aerobic in which case oxygen is consumed, or Anaerobic. In both cases carbon dioxide
is given off.

Run-Off -Overland flow of water following rain or irrigation events.

Salt Water Intrusion -The inflow of salt water into fresh water habitats or aquifers, usually
caused by a disruption of natural systems.

Siltation -The filling up of a wetland with water-borne sediment.

Slash-and-Burn Farming -A type of agriculture maintained by natives in tropical rain forest
regions in which a patch of forest is cut and burned; crops are grown in the clearing until the soil
is exhausted. The people then move on to another area and leave these fields to regenerate.

Sudd -A mass of floating vegetation. The term originated from floating islands on papyrus on the
White Nile.

Transpiration -The loss of water from the leaves of plants through small pores (stomota) which
close over night or under water stress (drought) conditions.

Trophic Status -Trophic comes from the Greek word for feeding. There are generally three
classes distinguished:

1.eutrophic -(well-fed) means nutrient-rich and is usually associated with low oxygen levels;

2.mestrophic -(medium)

3.oligotophic -(little-fed), nutrient-poor except for oxygen.

The trophic status for any one wetland is a condition determined by the surrounding catchment,
landform and geology.

Wet Meadows -Grazing land adjacent to wetlands that is flooded at peak water levels.

Zooplankton -The animal component of Plankton.