The influence of humans in the modification of nature.

The division of large habitats into smaller patches, resulting in discontinuities within the organisms preferred habitat.

This phenomena results in the degradation of an ecosystem.

A flower that contains sex organs of both the male and female. These organs are known as the carpellate (produces ovules) for females and staminate (produces pollen) for males.

In angiosperms (flower-producing plant), when a plant bares fruit.

In a flowering plant, it is a cluster of flowers either on a main branch or system of branches.

The study of how humans within a cultures use plants as folk remedy.

To move from one place to another.

An event/events that limit genetic variation in a population and result in populations that can lead to genetic drift.

A model used to measure whether a population has reached equilibrium, meaning it stopped evolving.

An informal phylogenetic tree that represents clusters of species with similar characteristics.

Secondary compounds that are only present after a stimulus occurs.

For instance, one stimulus could be leaf damage caused by herbivory.

Gas Chromatography: Used to separate and analyze compounds that do not decompose. Measures the content of multiple components in a sample.

Mass Spectroscopy: Measures the characteristics of individual molecules. This is done by converting the molecules into ions so they can be manipulated by magnetic and electrical fields.

GC-MS is a machine that does both.

The factors that dictate the presence and amount of a species within a community.

Species or populations that reside in the same geographic area.

Differences with species resulting from reproductive barriers.

The most amount two species can share their living environments and still coexist.

Level in the food chain an organism belongs to in an ecosystem. For instance, plants that are primary producers belong to the first trophic level.

Of related nature or origin. Of the same genus.

A collection of plants or organisms in a specific geographical area that exist at a specific time.

Compounds that play a role in a plant's ecological interaction with its environment.

For example, secondary compounds may function in protection against herbivores and/or pollinator attractants

Fluorescent molecule that binds to an antibody, allowing researchers to see if a protein is present and, if so, where it is.

Red fluorescent dye (or fluorochrome) used to visualize cellular components such as actin.

Short sequence of a protein, 14 amino acid residues in length.

A software program used to determine how related two species, genes, etc. are.

A negative control containing all the reagents of the PCR reaction, except the reverse-transcriptase. This kind of control is used to ensure that the reagent mixture is not contaminated.

Tissues that are able to bend light.

Recurring patterns of a sequence of DNA or amino acids. For example, opsins contain seven transmembrane helices.

Initiates.

Pouches or bulges in tissues.

Structure that controls the amount of light entering the eye.

A layer of reflective tissue between the choroid and retina.

Layer of tissue beneath the retina that supplies nutrients and oxygen to the retina.

A group of photoreceptive cells that form a simple photoreceptive organ in some species of cephalopods (the class that includes squid and octopuses).

Cells located somewhere other than the eye that are able to convert photons of light into chemical signal.

Sequences or series of proteins responsible for generating the signals involved in vision.

A technique that uses secondary antibodies bound to a fluorescent chemical to identify the presence of specific proteins.

The secondary antibodies bind to primary antibodies, which identify the protein of interest. The presence of the protein of interest can be detected by looking at the cells under a fluorescent microscope.

A test that measures how retinal cells respond to a light stimulus. Electroretinography is usually used to diagnose problems in the human eye, but it also has other uses.

Factors that do not allow amplification to occur.

Primers are sequences where genetic material starts to replicates. Reverse primers are those that replicate from the 3' to 5' end of the DNA strand.

Primers are DNA sequences where genetic material starts to replicate. Forward primers are those that replicate from the 5' to 3' end of the DNA strand.

A machine that does PCR in real time.

The property of absorbing light of short wavelength and emitting light of longer wavelength.

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol.

Tool for grinding.

The rupture or disintegration.

Periods of light and dark cycles.

Solution for growing marine algae.

An instrument that allows for identification of different chemicals by looking at their mass to charge ratio.

Dinoflagellates that interact and live around other organisms such as a coral.

A technique that detects mutations, and differences in DNA samples.

To increase the amount of genetic material (DNA) once again.

Solvent that alters the qualities of what is being worked with. This usually causes a destruction of it's properties.

The ribosomal DNA with the internal transcribed spacer, specifically region 2. This sequence of the gene varies between species.

A spacer DNA (region of noncoding DNA in genes) between the small subunit ribosomal RNA and the large subunit ribosomal RNA.

A technique that separates DNA fragments.

A technique that can detect variations in homologous DNA sequences.

RFLP has been used to analyze patterns of DNA cleavage after restriction enzyme treatment. It has also been used to detect mRNA modified bases. The goal of this experiment was to present the ability of RFLP to show the different ptRMs at specific sites of several tRNAs.

A species that is found within a whole country, or continent.

Group of organisms that is said to have come from a common ancestor.

A group that contains endosymbiotic dinoflagellates. They typically use animals such as corals and anemones as hosts.

Marine photosynthetic organisms that have two flagella (long slender membrane that allows organism to swim).

Stony or hard coral.

Species that can thrive only in very specific environments which contain resources such as certain types of food or shelter.

This is in contrast to habitat generalists, species which can thrive in a variety of environments, making use of a variety of different resources.

Organisms that cannot move on their own, including most plants and some animals.

Although external forces can move these organisms, as when wind disperses seeds, it will be difficult for them to shift their range if new suitable habitat is too far away.

Relating to physiology, which is the study of how living systems work and the processes that keep a living organism alive.

Related to a microclimate, which is the distinctive climate of a small area.

For example, a large boulder could create two microclimates: one on the side that gets more sun and is exposed to the wind, and the other on the side of the boulder that is mostly sheltered from the sun and wind. The two microclimates may contain different living organisms which prefer one or the other.

Related to topography, which describes the physical surface features of an area, such as the steepness of a slope.

Living organisms may prefer certain types of topography.

The symbol is the Greek letter chi (pronounced "ki", as in kite).

Chi-squared is part of the chi-square goodness-of-fit test. Its purpose here is to measure how well a model describes a set of data.

Responding less than would be expected if climate change were the only factor.

In this context, lagging means having a range shift that is less than expected based on the temperature change.

A temperature gradient quantifies how temperature changes through space (spatial) or time (temporal).

Here the authors refer to a spatial gradient: how the annual average temperature changes with position (latitude or elevation). The gradient is measured in degrees Celsius per distance (kilometers or meters).

The balance of some ecosystems may be upset by changes in water balance.

Some organisms may not survive if rainfall or humidity is either too high or too low. Examples of moisture-limited ecosystems include deserts and rainforests.

The temperate and tropical zones are two of the three major climate zones on Earth.

See a map of the major climate zones here: climate zone map

The p-value (P) is a measure of statistical significance, or how unlikely it is that the data are a result of random chance.

When a statistical test compares two situations, a small p-value indicates a very small probability that the situations are the same. We can then conclude that the situations are significantly different.

A one-sample t test is a statistical test that compares the mean of a sample set to a particular value. Its purpose is to determine if the sample set could have come from a larger group of data (a population) with that particular mean value.

In statistics, N is the number of data points in a group.

Standard error (SE) is a measure of variability within a set of data. The SE value is used in the calculation of statistical tests, such as the one-sample t test.

Living organisms grouped together because they share certain characteristics.

Taxonomic groups can range from very general, such as all plants, to very specific, such as a particular species of wasp.

A change in either the average climate of an area or the amount of climate variability, measured over a period of time.

In this paper, the authors use the change in annual average temperature as a measure of climate change.

A measure of the variety of individuals, species, and ecosystems in an environment.

Maintaining biodiversity is important because Earth's natural systems are highly interconnected. Losing species or altering ecosystems can have widespread consequences.

A change in location of the boundaries of a species' range.

In this paper, the ranges are defined by upper and lower boundaries of either latitude or elevation. A range shift can occur at either boundary or both.

In statistics, the median is the middle value in a group of data points. Half of the data points are less than the median, and half are greater than the median.

A statistical analysis of data combined from multiple scientific studies.

Combining data from many different studies can increase the statistical power of the results, reveal new patterns in the data, and help to minimize effects of error or bias in individual studies.

A measure of the height of a point on Earth above sea level.

Higher elevations, like mountains, tend to experience lower average temperatures than lower elevations.

Plants and animals that live most or all of their lives on land.

The area where a species is found.

The authors use the terms range, distribution, and geographic distribution interchangeably in this paper.

Synthetic (lab-made) sugars.

The resistance of an electric circuit towards a current due to a voltage change.

'Derma" refers to skin and in this case, "trans" means through; so transdermal means the electroreceptors are being emitted through the skin of the fish.

A structure resembling a cerebellum in electric fish that contains secondary sensory neurons to which sensory signals detected by electroreceptors are relayed.

A 3D geometric figure whose planes or sections consist of ellipses or circles.

Electric field vectors (EOD maps) can help determine the size, position, shape, distance, and other physical features of a small object, such as an electric fish, by creating electric images with features that visually represent and correspond to each characteristic of the object in question.

Sensory reafference consists of signals received by a sensory region when the corresponding sensory organ is moved or stimulated.

Made up of multiple stages, phases, or steps.

The spread of the signals that are emitted by the electric organs within the organism.

Towards the direction of the dorsal and ventral regions of a fish's body (above and below, respectively).

The fish that were kept in the lab were curarized (given a drug so their muscles could relax and body) and respirated (to make sure the animals were getting enough oxygen to breath).

The resistance of an electric circuit to an opposing or alternating current.

Resembling an ampulla which is a dilated piece of a canal or duct.

A predator that is able to use to receptors in their electric organs to sense the environment around them. The electrorecptors in the organism are located in a dilated part of a canal or duct.

This phrase means that the front-facing side of the organism does not have a supply of nerves. "Non" - not , "innervated"- to supply with nerves.

This means to spread toward the tail or posterior section of the body.

A cycle, object or process that has two phases.

The anatomical term that refers to the area of the body that located near the oral and nasal region.

Spatio means having to do with space, temporal means time, so together this word means having to do with space and time. In this context the EOD potentials have both spatial extension and a time-related duration.

The anatomical position that relates to the underside or the abdominal part of an organism.

Dipoles are equal magnetic positive and negative charges separated by a distance. In this case, oscillate means to cause the electric current to move in a way that influences the dipoles to change and fluctuate. Picture strings vertically tied to a rope in the middle, movement to the rope cause the strings to ripple outward in the direction they are facing.

When it says that the spatial pattern of the EOD has dipolar geometry, you can imagine a magnet where the animal is the positive side and the object it is heading towards is the negative side and they attract each other making a sort of map.

Objects or parts that are able to conduct electricity in nonmetallic substances (e.g water).

"Neuro" refers to the organism's nerves and nervous system and "computational" refers to a calculation. The study is calculating the work that the nervous system is conducting in order to use electrolocation.

Auto means "self" and genous means "producing/originating from", so this word itself can be defined as self-producing or originating from within.

Certain marine and aquatic vertebrates have electric organs which allow the organism to produce electric fields (electrogenesis).The electric organs of these organisms contain electroreceptors, which provide the organism the ability to sense the electric fields in their environment. The sensory system created by the electroreceptors within these organism results in the electroreception and allows the organism to be better adapted to their underwater and salty environment. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/expphysiol.1988.sp003144/epdf

Functional units of the central nervous system that are organized systematically based on function and vary in their anatomical location in the body; they all work together to carry out complex body functions, in this case the process of electrolocation.

An extremely large and diverse group of fish that are mainly identified by the presence of a homocercal tail, in which the upper and lower parts of the tail are equal in size. An example of a teleost fish would be a tuna or halibut.

The ability to detect weak naturally occurring electrostatic fields in the environment. Electroreception aides in the detection of prey, food sources, and objects. It can also be used by some species as a means of social communication.

-This excerpt provides a brief synopsis of what electroreception is and explains its relevance to the experiment discussed in this article.

https://www.britannica.com/science/electroreception (Hopkins,2017)

This term refers to a machine that is able to produce electricity in order to produce motion. For electric fish and similar organisms, it means their organs have the ability to produce electricity, that is used to produce movement.

Organs found in fish that can recognize electric stimuli using specialized sensory cells.

Measuring things through data and numbers. In this context, scientists currently do not have numbers to describe the process of electrolocation.

The ability of the nervous system of certain organisms to sense electrical impulses in their environment. It is similar to when a person uses their nose to smell a certain scent or odor in the proximity; in this case the electric fish are able to use their organs to sense electrical pulses nearby.

There are several layers of tuff that can be distinguished by color—one on top of the other.

The term mottles is used to identify differences in color patterns in a soil profile. Iron and manganese (Fe/Mn) oxides color the soil.

This refers to the physical characteristics of the rock as observed in an exposed outcrop or in a core sample. Here the authors are referencing differences in the layer of soil overlying the Footprint Tuff.

Le plus fort

P values greater than 0.001 are generally considered insignificant in statistics.

"Bootstrapping" is a process that allows scientists to ensure that their statistical data sets are correct by doing hundreds of random samplings.

Material or substance that prevents the loss of heat to the environment.

The period of time every day that the plant receives light.

The period at which the plant grows and opens its flowers.

The specific temperature that needs to be reached in order for a result to occur.

The process of aging.

A type of structure that develops on the stem of the plant which later grows into another part of the plant like a flower.

Retaining green leaves throughout the year.

Herbaceous plant without grass-like features in contrast to graminoids.

A collection and combination of data.

Being different in structure or composition.

Characteristic of shedding leaves.

The start of the growth cycle of a plant.

The accumulated daily temperature required for plants to flower or start growing or produce fruits.

The difference in moisture ( Liquid such as water present as vapor) between the inside and outside of a material like wood or soil.

Region characterized by low temperatures, freezing soil and treeless terrain composed mainly of cold-resistant plants.

Gas that is present in very small concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere.

Key seasonal changes in plants like the timing of flowering, especially in relation to climate.

Relating to high-elevation mountains.

This part of the flower collects the pollen that has been delivered, whether by wind or pollinators.

The process in which resources are searched for and gathered.

A flower species that is known as the Pineland Golden Trumpet. This plant is native to Pine Rocklands.

A mass of pollen grains. These pollen grains are the product of each anther lobe of some flowers (especially orchids). Single or paired pollinia are attached to, and carried by pollinating insects.

In many insects, the proboscis is the elongated sucking mouthpart that is typically tubular and flexible. Pollinators use this to suck the nectar of flowers.

Refers to another organism of the same species.

The outer part of the flower, which consists of sepals and pedals.

Does There Need To Be an "I" in Team? Loner bee excels in promoting fruit set on Invasive plant species Solanum when compared to socially outgoing native bees

Seedlings, or young plants with the potential for growth after germination.

Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) is a commonly used plant for research because of ease of manipulation. With a genome of approximately 125 megabase pairs (Mbp) and only 5 chromosomes, it is relatively quick to sequence and much background literature exists on the genome. It also matures in 6 weeks, and is easily cultivated in confined spaces.

Individuals vary in the number of offspring they produce. Fecundity is often measured as the number of offspring produced by an individual. When populations have higher fecundity, there are more individuals to populate the region just outside the current species range, which result in increased spread velocity.

Species acquire new range at a given rate, expressed as land acquired per unit time. How fast species spread into new range is important for how quickly invasive species can take over an area or a native species can adapt to a changing climate.

A time interval between the stimulation and response.

Noises rats make that are outside the range of human hearing.

Anxiety-causing.

Tactile means relating to touch.

Nontactile neural responses are caused by triggers other than direct touch, such as behaviors or emotional state.

Neurons that are excited by tickling are also excited by play, and neurons that are suppressed by neurons are also suppressed by play. This suggests a link between tickling and play at the neuronal level.

Activity in the brain that corresponds to an external, physical, or behavioral event.

These are typically aerial photos that have been corrected so that there is no distortion. The scale is uniform.

Close to the optical center of a lens, it is assumed that there is no image distortion or exaggeration of the image. A grid system can be used to determine the distance between points in a distorted image and the actual distance.

Distal means away from the point of attachment or center of the body. Metatarsals are the five long bones in the foot located between the tarsals and toes (phalanges). Thus, as the individual walked, the placement of weight on the foot started at the heel and moved toward the toes.

An ursid is a bear.

Rabbits, hares, and pikas are classified as lagomorphs.

Pedogenesis is the process of soil formation. In Test-pit L8, the environmental forces acting to form soil destroyed the fossil footprints.

Carbonate rock reacts with water that contains dissolved carbon dioxide. This reaction with the slightly acidified water results in the rock being eroded away.

Graben is a geological term for a depressed section of Earth's crust. An example would be a river valley created by erosion or a rift valley created through faulting. A micro-graben is a small depression bordered by higher scarps.

Species that still exist.

The study of the external and internal structure and shape of organisms. This would include hominin skeletal structure, size, and foot shape.

The term refers to how tall a person is when standing upright.

Perennial plants grow and bloom over the spring and summer, but die back every autumn and winter.

This seasonal process involves the annual gain and loss of the biomass required for blooming.

The elimination of a constant fraction, of the carbon quantity present in plants that goes into the soil, over time. Plants decompose and release their carbon into the soil. The author collected data, from each plot, to produce a constant fraction to be used in the equation.

The CO2 atmospheric concentration surrounding the experimental plots. The local CO2 atmospheric concentration can vary from plot to plot.

The natural vegetation found in grasslands such as: C4 grasses, C3 grasses, legumes, and other forbs.

When the effectiveness of increased species richness on carbon storage, in an environment, starts to level off and not increase so drastically. This effect on the relationship between plant diversity and carbon sequestering can be seen the longer time goes on.

The rate of photosynthesis of plants minus the rate of respiration plants conduct to survive.

Plants convert light energy, from the sun, to sugar during photosynthesis. Plants then use the sugar they created as energy to survive and function in their environment, this is considered plant respiration. The total amount of sugar left over is considered the net primary productivity of a plant.

An abiotic element that affects an environment. The amount of precipitation, temperature, geography, etc. These elements affect a plant's ability to reproduce, function, and conduct photosynthesis.

Growing only one type of plant species in an environment.

The use of only one plant species reduces the total amount of carbon uptake in a farmer's field and strips valuable nutrients in an environment and faster than the addition of multiple plant species.

The Conservation Reverse Program was a policy implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), for sensitive agricultural lands to not be used for farming or ranching, but instead for conservation benefits. The conservation benefits the USDA wishes to advance are: plant species' ability to stabilize soil, filter water, purify air, and support local wildlife.

A social cost is an expense that must be payed by an entire society as a result of a particular event, action, or policy change. In this context, the event would be an increased species richness.

The ability of an environment to restore itself after the ecosystem has been through devastating changes. From the growth of primary organisms and the accumulation of food and energy, an ecosystem can rebuild itself.

Reservoirs of carbon that accumulate in plants, soil, ocean, and atmosphere. This paper specifically looks at the carbon reservoirs in the grassland ecosystems where the experiment is taking place.

The base-line economical worth assigned to plants for just being plants.This paper explains that there are many different characteristics that can be used to calculate a plant's economic worth based on the plant species importance to an ecosystem.The economical worth of plant species increases as levels of CO2 in the atmosphere increases because of their ability to take CO2 out of the atmosphere and store it.

Companies have to pay for the amount of carbon dioxide they emit, so in the context of this paper it means the dollar amount assigned to carbon.

Different species that conduct photosynthesis to create energy. Different plant species that convert light energy into chemical energy. For this experiment, the author questions the impact of increased species richness on carbon storage in American grasslands.

A rapid increase in the amount of a quantifiable unit. In plant species, proliferation refers to the rapid increase in the number of plant species that now inhabit earth. The diverse array of species around the world is a valuable component to producing ecosystem services that benefit all organisms.

Organisms that require oxygen to produce energy and to survive. Plants help to maintain the earth's oxygen rich atmosphere through photosynthesis (CO2 is taken in and oxygen is released). Without the existence of plant life, other organisms that depend on oxygen to breathe would not exist.

As plants conduct photosynthesis and gain energy, they grow. Plants accumulate biomass through the storage of carbon and uptake of other vital nutrients required for plant grow. By taking the dry-weight of plants, the scientist can see how much carbon is being taking up through the soil.

Marginal value is the amount of economic growth received for each additional unit of species richness relative to the previous unit. The paper suggests that marginal value decreases with the addition of species, when considering biomass accumulation, due to competition. This implies the addition of each new species to an ecosystem causes diminishing returns on rate of growth for all plants because each plant is competing for limited resources.

The amount of energy the grasslands will be producing. If there is a greater degree of competition between the different species than there will be a higher output of growth and carbon storage.

The number of different collective groups of organisms that are in a habitat. The increasing number of varieties of organisms will be compared to the carbon storage throughout the habitat. The scientists expect that a higher number of variety will disclose an increase in economic value.

A measure of the variety of life or different species in a specific environment. Increased biodiversity is associated with promoting competition which increases carbon storage.

DEET is a ubiquitous repellent known to effectively provide protection from many biting insects, particularly mosquitoes. Its exact interaction between itself and the organisms it targets are not yet fully known. Yet, what is understood is that it possesses two primary lines of negative feedback that act as a defense to prevent feeding. These two are the olfactory and gustatory levels. This, along with other smaller contributors are what give DEET its ability to deter insects

In statistics, the term robust or robustness refers to the strength of a statistical model, indicating that the model has good performance for data drawn from a wide range of probability distributions.

A power law is a functional relationship between two quantities, where one quantity varies as a power of the other.

An example of a power law is Zipf's Law, which says that the distribution of words in a given corpus of text is a function of the frequency of the words. In a given corpus of text, the most frequent word occurs twice as much as the second most frequent one, which shows up twice as much as the third most frequent one, and so on.

A stochastic event has a random probability distribution or pattern that may be analyzed statistically but may not be predicted precisely.

An aggregate shutdown is a stochastic event because it depends on the probability of that aggregate being found by predators (entities capable of shutting it down).

An aggregate is fragmented when it is broken down into other aggregates of smaller size. This happens, for instance, when an aggregate is shut down.

A bipartite graph is a set of graph vertices decomposed into two disjoint sets such that no two graph vertices within the same set are connected.

In the paper, the disjoint sets of nodes that constitute the bipartite graph are aggregates and followers. In this graph, there are no direct connections between aggregates (they can only be connected through other people). The same holds for followers: they are connected to aggregates, but not (directly) to other followers.

Self-radicalization is a phenomenon by which individuals become terrorists without affiliating with a radical group, although they may be influenced by its ideology and message.

Reference: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Self-radicalization

An ad hoc group of followers of an online page that interact in a language-agnostic way and with freely chosen names that help attract followers without making public the identities of the group's members.

The paper uses the term aggreagates in three ways:

1. as a members of an ad hoc group of followers on an online page (as defined above);
2. as refering to pro-ISIS aggregates, which are aggregates that appear to express a strong allegiance to ISIS;
3. in contrast to followers, which are people who interact with aggregates online.

In the Supplementary Material, the authors provide a link to a video showing how agrregates can be set up for any purpose on Facebook, VKontakte, and other similar websites.

The term "ecology" can be defined as the set of relationships between a complex system and its surroundings or environment. In the context of this paper, the relationship between pro-ISIS ad hoc groups formed online constitutes an ecology. It can also be interpreted as "ecosystem" in this context.