amateur: One who engages in a pursuit as a pastime, not as a profession.
amphibians: A group of animals that includes frogs, salamanders and caecilians. Amphibians have backbones and can breathe through their skin. Unlike reptiles, birds and mammals, unborn or unhatched amphibians do not develop in a special protective sac called an amniotic sac.
behavior: The way something, often a person or other organism, acts towards others, or conducts itself.
coauthor: One of a group (two or more people) who together had prepared a written work, such as a book, report or research paper. Not all coauthors may have contributed equally.
colleague: Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.
crow: (in biology) A type of large black bird with a complex social structure that perches in trees and is known for its boisterous call.
defense: (in biology) A natural protective action taken or chemical response that occurs when a species confronts predators or agents that might harm it. (adj. defensive)
egg: The unfertilized reproductive cell made by females.
gland: A cell, a group of cells or an organ that produces and discharges a substance (or “secretion”) for use elsewhere in the body or in a body cavity, or for elimination from the body.
herpetology: The biology of reptiles and amphibians. Scientists who work in this field are known as herpetologists.
innards: Slang term for internal organs, such as the stomach and intestines.
journal: (in science) A publication in which scientists share their research findings with experts (and sometimes even the public). Some journals publish papers from all fields of science, technology, engineering and math, while others are specific to a single subject. The best journals are peer-reviewed: They send all submitted articles to outside experts to be read and critiqued. The goal, here, is to prevent the publication of mistakes, fraud or sloppy work.
organ: (in biology) Various parts of an organism that perform one or more particular functions. For instance, an ovary is an organ that makes eggs, the brain is an organ that makes sense of nerve signals and a plant’s roots are organs that take in nutrients and moisture.
prey: (n.) Animal species eaten by others. (v.) To attack and eat another species.
reptile: Cold-blooded vertebrate animals, whose skin is covered with scales or horny plates. Snakes, turtles, lizards and alligators are all reptiles.
secrete: (noun: secretion) The natural release of some liquid substance — such as hormones, an oil or saliva — often by an organ of the body.
tissue: Made of cells, it is any of the distinct types of materials that make up animals, plants or fungi. Cells within a tissue work as a unit to perform a particular function in living organisms. Different organs of the human body, for instance, often are made from many different types of tissues.
toxic: Poisonous or able to harm or kill cells, tissues or whole organisms. The measure of risk posed by such a poison is its toxicity.
toxin: A poison produced by living organisms, such as germs, bees, spiders, poison ivy and snakes.
