Wildlife Management Terms - O
Obex: small region in the upper spinal cord close to the brain where the brain narrows to become the central canal of the spinal cord; located in the caudal medulla
Objective: concise statement of intended achievement; something toward which effort is directed
Obligate migrator: deer are obligated to vacate their summer range and migrate to suitable winter shelter areas called Deer Wintering Complexes, especially in colder climates
Obligate summer range: range occupied by obligate migratory deer during the snow free seasons of spring, summer and fall. Deer vacate these areas during winter and migrate to suitably sheltered areas to spend the winter. Deer return when snow conditions moderate, allowing them to return to range occupied during spring, summer and fall
Obligate Winter Range: obligate migratory deer vacate ranges they occupy during the snow-free seasons (summer range) and migrate to winter ranges that are suitable for mitigating the impact of 75+ days of 12 or more inches of snow
Odonate: belonging to the carnivorous insect order Odonata including: dragonflies and damselflies
Odor: smell produced by a plant or animal. Scent.
Omnivore: category of animals that feed on both plants and animals. (omni-, all; - vore, eater)
Oligohaline: describes water with low salinity
Oligotrophic: environments that offer few nutrients for species survival; lakes or other bodies of water that are low in nutrients and organic matter
Opossum: omnivorous mammal that is also a marsupial (pouched animal). It has a prehensile tail, a pointed snout, grey fur except on the tail, and often feigns death when in danger (playing possum)
Optimum sustainable population: number of animals which will result in the maximum productivity of the population or the species, keeping in mind the optimum carrying capacity of the habitat and the health of the ecosystem of which they form a constituent element; a population size which falls within a range from the carrying capacity of the ecosystem to the population level that results in maximum net productivity
Organism: any living thing
Ornithology: scientific study of birds as a branch of zoology
Orographic: pertaining to relief factors such as hills, mountains, plateaux, valleys and slopes
Osprey: large bird of prey with a hooked bill and long talons, which plunges feet first into the water to catch its prey, fish. Also called the “fish hawk”. Is affected by pesticides, like eagles.
Otter: dark brown (often appearing black when wet) stream-lined, mamma adapted to living in the water, having webbed back feet. Carnivore primarily feeding on fish, turtles, and frogs
Oval: egg shaped
Owl: primarily nocturnal, (night feeding) bird of prey, with hooked bill and talons. A carnivore that feeds on mice, snakes, small birds, reptiles, and insects
Oxygen: gas in the air that almost all living things need to survive