cli•mate change n. 1. A significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.

cli•mate mod•el•ling 1. 1. Climate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces, and ice. 2. Mathematical models of past, present, and future climates.

com•mu•ni•ty based par•tic•i•pa•to•ry re•search n. 1. Research that is conducted as an equal partnership between traditionally trained "experts" and members of a community.

con•ser•va•tion bi•ol•o•gy n. 1. The scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction.

di•et n. 1. The usual food and drink of a person or animal. 2. A regulated selection of foods, esp. as prescribed for medical reasons.

dis•tur•bance n. 1. A temporary change in average environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem.

ec•o•sys•tem n. 1. An ecological community together with its physical environment, considered as a unit.

ep•i•de•mi•ol•o•gy n. 1. The study of epidemics and epidemic diseases.

ev•o•lu•tion n. 1. The theory that groups of organisms, as species, may change with passage of time so that descendants differ morphologically and physiologically from their ancestors.

ge•net•ics n. 1. The biology of heredity, esp. the study of mechanisms of hereditary transmission and variation of organismal characteristics.

hi•ber•nate n. 1. To pass the winter in a dormant or torpid state.

lo•cal knowl•edge n. 1. Also called traditional knowledge and indigenous knowledge and generally refers to the long-standing traditions and practices of certain regional, indigenous, or local communities.

me•tab•o•lism n. 1. The complex of physical and chemical processes involved in the maintenance of life. 2. The functioning of a specific substance within the living body.

neu•ro•phar•ma•col•o•gy n. 1. The branch of pharmacology that deals with the action of drugs on the nervous system.

nu•tri•tion n. 1. The process of nourishing or being nourished, esp. the process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and for replacement of tissues.

o•be•sity n. 1. Label for ranges of weight that are greater than what is considered healthy for a given height.

patch dy•nam•ics n. 1. Conceptual approach to ecosystem and habitat analysis that emphasizes dynamics of heterogeneity within a system.

per•ma•frost n. 1. Soil, rock, sediment, or other earth material with a temperature that has remained below 0°C for two or more consecutive years. Permafrost underlies most of the surfaces in the terrestrial Arctic.

phys•i•ol•o•gy n. 1. The biological science of essential and characteristic life processes, activities, and functions. 2. All the vital processes of an organism.

plant-in•sect in•ter•act•ions n. 1. Plants and insects have the inherent ability to adjust their behavior in reaction to other species; going so far as to alter their physiology and chemistry.

pop•u•la•tion dy•nam•ics n. 1. The pattern of any process, or the interrelationships of phenomena, which affect growth or change within a population.

pop•u•la•tion e•col•o•gy n. 1. Field of ecology that deals with the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment.

res•pi•ra•tion n. 1. The action of breathing. 2. A single breath.

salm•on n. 1. A large edible game fish that matures in the sea but migrates to freshwater streams to spawn.

so•cio-e•co•log•i•cal sys•tems n. 1. Consist of a biogeophysical unit and its associated social actors and institutions.

stream e•col•o•gy n. 1. Study of processes that govern freshwater-riparian productivity

ther•mo•gen•e•sis n. 1. Process of heat production in organisms. It occurs mostly in warm-blooded animals.

ther•mo•karst n. 1. Small pits, valleys, slumps, hummocks and other land-surface configurations that results from the thawing of frozen ground (permafrost)

wild•life man•age•ment n. 1. Study and practice of balancing the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science.

zo•on•o•sis n. 1. A disease such as rabies or malaria that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

a•vi•an bi•ol•o•gy n. 1. Study of birds including their structure, function, growth, origin, habitat, population, and distribution.

bi•o•ge•o•chem•is•try n. 1. The study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment.

bo•re•al for•est n. 1. Refers to a biome characterized by coniferous forests.

car•bon cy•cle n. 1. Biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.

car•i•bou n. 1. A deer, Rangifer tarandus, of arctic regions of the New World, having antlers in both sexes.

cen•tral nerv•ous sys•tem n. 1. The portion of the vertebrate nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord.