Wildlife Management Terms - E
Eagle, Bald: bird of prey that at maturity has a white feathered head and tail, a yellow hooked bill, and long, sharp talons which are used to catch fish
Early successional: relating to the initial stages of the process by which vegetation is either re-established following a disturbance or by which it initially develops in an unvegetated site. Early successional vegetation is dominated by grasses, forbs, and shrubs.
Early-successional habitat: plant communities such as young forests, native grasslands, weedy fallow fields, and scrub-shrub areas. These areas support plant communities that provide critical habitat for many species of wildlife
Early-successional wildlife: group of species that inhabit plant communities such as young forests, native grasslands, weedy fallow fields, and scrub-shrub areas including: quail, rabbits, and many declining songbirds
Eco-tourism: form of tourism where visitors travel to enjoy, study, and appreciate nature as a way to promote conservation and support the socio-economic status of local human communities
Ecology: study of abiotic and biotic factors in an ecosystem and their interactions
Ecoregion: regional landscape that supports recognizably distinctive groupings of plants, animals, and natural communities due to regional patterns of climate, landform, soil, and hydrology (natural features)
Ecosystem: all the communities of living organisms interacting with abiotic components that form and function as a ecological unit in nature
Ecosystem management: concept of resource management that considers land, water, air, plants, and animals to be an entire system that should be managed as a whole. All of these elements are interrelated (including humans)
Ecotone: transition zone between communities. For example, the transitional area between field and forest. Ecotones often are rich in species as they harbor species from adjoining communities and their predators
Ectotherm: animal that is dependent on sources of heat outside its body
Edge: place where two or more different plant communities, successional stages or vegetative stages come together or meet
Edge effect: refers to the diversity and abundance of wildlife that are attracted to areas where two or more vegetative types or age classes meet. It is a result of the stark contrast between adjacent landcover created by humans (e.g., cropland, closed canopy forest, and urban)
Edge feathering: cutting trees along crop field edges to create a wide transition zone from field to forest
Effluent: discharge to a body of water from a defined or point source, generally consisting of a mixture of waste and water from industrial or municipal facilities
Egret: primarily wading birds with long beaks, necks, and legs
Emergent marsh: community of plants that are rooted under water but grow above the surface of the water, such as cattails and wild rice
Endangered species: any species of fish, wildlife, or plants which have been designated as endangered when the continued existence of these species as viable components throughout a significant portion of its range is in danger of extinction
Endangered Species Act: federal legislation signed into law in 1973 with the purpose of protecting and recovering imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.
Enamel: hard, white outer coat of a tooth
Endemic (endemism): native to a particular locality, region, country, etc
Endemic species: native species living within a restricted geographic area and not occurring anywhere else
Endemic zone: area where a disease is naturally found
Endotherm: animal that is capable of producing its own body heat
Energy: power or ability to make things move or happen. All organisms need food, which is a source of energy, to stay alive
Energy cycle: sun’s energy is used by plants to produce food, animals eat plants to produce energy, decomposers use the animal and plant matter to produce energy, and that matter is recycled to be used again by plants
Environment: all those factors, both living and non-living which make up the surroundings that affects an organism in any way
Epibenthic: living or existing on top of the bottom layer of sediment on the seabed
Epiphyte: plant growing on another plant, but not using the host plant for nourishment
Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHVD): fly transmitted viral disease that affects wild and domestic ruminants, especially white-tailed deer. The acute form of the disease can result in a very high mortality rate in white-tailed deer
Erosion: process of weathering away of stream banks and adjacent land slopes by water, ice, wind, or other factors
Escape cover: thickets, vine mats, hollow trees, rock crevices, blowdowns or burrows that are a means of concealment from predators or hunters
Estivation: state of inactivity during prolonged periods of drought or high temperatures
Estrus Doe: when a doe is in heat, typically a 2-4 day period of time when that doe is capable of breeding
Estuarine: of or related to a semi-enclosed body of water where saltwater mixes with fresh water, such as the Chesapeake Bay
Estuary: area of a wide, lower course of a river where its current is met and influenced by the sea and the fresh water meets the salt water combining to form brackish water. It is a highly productive zone providing breeding grounds, food, and shelter for microscopic animals, mollusks, shrimp, fishes, and birds
Eurasian wild boar: free-ranging, wild pigs (male and female) of the “western race” subspecies native to Europe, Russia, and the Middle East, extending as far as Central Asia, including central and southern Russia, Kazakhstan, northern Afghanistan
Eutrophication: process through which excessive organismal growth, typically algae, is induced by excess nutrient input. Also a natural process of maturing in a body of water.
Everglades: river of grass; a shallow, fresh water river in southern Florida. Also, used to designate other types of habitats in the same area
Exotic: species that is not native, or something that did not grow in this area before humans brought it from another country and we either introduced or escaped
Exotic species: species occurring outside of its native range also known as: alien, non-indigenous, or non-native
Exposure: character, magnitude, and rate of change a species experiences, including both direct and indirect impacts of climate change
Extinct: species which has vanished from existence
Extinction: state of a species no longer existing throughout its entire range (no individuals or breeding pairs left)
Extirpation: bring a species to extinction within part of its range, but still exists elsewhere in the world