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APPENDIX 1.

Glossary

Cryptic

Pertaining to concealment, usually in reference to color pattern or behavior (e.g., hiding in reef

crevices)

Diadema antillarum

Long-Spined Urchin. A Caribbean-wide epidemic in the early `80's wiped out over 90 percent

of the population but they are now recovering in some areas.

Denuders

Organisms that strip substrate of covering, make it bare.

Detritus

Accumulated organic material or debris.

Drivers of Change

Any human-made or natural occurrence or activity that directly or indirectly causes degradation

of reef health and integrity. Drivers of change disrupt the natural structure and functioning of

reefs and associated ecosystems.

Ecoregion

An ecoregion is defined (WWF) as a large area of land or water that contains a geographically

distinct assemblage of natural communities that(a) share a large majority of their species and

ecological dynamics; (b) share similar environmental conditions, and; (c) interact ecologically

in ways that are critical for their long-term persistence.

Ecosystem Health

The capacity of an ecosystem to maintain the full range of natural populations and ecological

processes at both local and regional levels over time scales appropriate for ecosystems.

Usually involves a human component or value.

Endangered Species

A species in danger of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if causal factors continue

operating. Included are species whose numbers have been drastically reduced to a critical

level or whole habitats have been so drastically impaired that they are deemed to be in

immediate danger of extinction. (see IUCN Red List).

Extinct

Species no longer exists, anywhere.

Ecologically Extinct

Species occurs at such low abundance that it no longer fulfills its natural ecological functional

role.

Locally Extinct

Species no longer exists in a specific region.

Fecundity

The productiveness or potential productiveness of an organism, measured in the number of

viable offspring it may produce; the number of eggs an animal produces each reproductive

cycle; the potential reproductive capacity of an organism or population

Fluvial

Of, relating to, or inhabiting, a river or a stream. Produced by the action of a river or a stream.

Focal Species

A key species whose status is threatened (as per IUCN Red List) or indicative of the condition

of many other flora and fauna that rely on similar habitats.

Food web

All the interactions of predator and prey, included along with the exchange of nutrients into

and out of the ecosystem. These interactions connect the various members of an ecosystem,

and describe how energy is converted and passes from one organism to another.

Function

Functional attributes include the key ecological processes of reef health and basically describe

how structural components interact. They are the processes required to sustain biodiversity.

Functional group

Organisms that perform similar functional roles within an ecosystem (e.g., herbivores

controlling algae, filter feeders removing particulate matter from the water column).

GIS

Geographical Information System: A system for creating and managing spatial data and

associated attributes. A tool that allows users to create interactive queries (user created

searches), analyze the spatial information, and edit data.

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