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Longstreet Highroad Guide to the Florida Keys & Everglades By Rick Ferren

Florida Keys & Everglades > Appendices > Glossary

Glossary

• Algae—A group of onecelled or manycelled plants, having chlorophyll, without roots, living in water.
• Aquifer—An underground porous rock formation containing water, especially one that supplies water for wells or springs.
• Bayhead—A tree island in the freshwater marsh that may be submerged during the wet season; so named because it usually contains redbay or sweet bay trees.
• Bight—A body of water bounded by a bend or curve in the shore; several are found in Key West.
• Brackish water—Mixed fresh and salt water.
• Bromeliad—Nonparasitic air plants from the Pineapple family that are epiphytes.
• Chickee—An opensided structure built on a raised platform and covered by a thatched roof; the traditional housing of the Seminole adapted to the southern Florida environment.
• Crustacean—Animals that wear a segmented shell and have segmented legs are arthropods, such as insects and crustaceans. Crustaceans are arthropods that live in the water and breathe by gills, such as lobsters, barnacles, crabs, and shrimps.
• Detritus—Decomposed plant and animal matter.
• Ecosystem—A biological community existing in a specific physical environment.
• Endangered species—A species that, throughout all or a significant portion of its range, is in danger of extinction.
• Epiphyte—A nonparasitic plant growing upon or attached to another plant or nonliving structure.
• Estuary—The portion of a river or coastal wetland affected by the rise and fall of the tide, containing a mixture of fresh and salt water.
• Flats—Shallow, nearshore waters of the Atlantic and Gulf.
• Habitat—Where an organism lives; its natural home.
• Hammock—A dense growth of trees on a slightly elevated area, not wet enough to be a swamp.
• Limestone—A sedimentary rock derived from the shells and skeletons of animals deposited in seas, and consisting mostly of calcium carbonate.
• Miccosukee Tribe—One of two federally recognized organizations of Seminole Indians. Incorporated in 1962.
• Nocturnal—Active at night.
• Periphyton—An assemblage of small plant organisms (mostly algae) attached to surfaces underwater or floating; may form a spongy mat insulating the ground from total dehydration during the dry season in the Everglades.
• Photosynthesis—The production of carbohydrates by plants in the presence of chlorophyll and sunlight.
• Plankton—Aquatic organisms that float at the mercy of the currents or have limited swimming abilities.
• Salt marsh—An area of soft, wet land periodically flooded by salt water.
• Seminole Tribe—One of two federally recognized organizations of Seminole Indians. Incorporated in 1957, the Tribe is governed by a constitution and is headed by a council and board of directors.
• Slough—A channel of slowmoving water in a marsh land.
• Species—A basic taxonomic group consisting of individuals of common ancestry who strongly resemble each other physiologically and who interbreed, producing fertile offspring.
• Subspecies—A subdivision of species consisting of individuals different from the rest of the species but still able to interbreed with other members of the species.
• Threatened species—A species still present in its range but, without significant changes in conditions, may become endangered.
• Zooplankton—Animal plankton.

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Published (print): 1999, Published (Web): January 2003, ISBN: 1-56352-543-7

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