Definition: Capable of creating a new organism by combining the genetic material of two gametes, which may come from two parent organisms or from a single organism, in the case of self-fertilizing hermaphrodites.
Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
Definition: An oceanic island, often having a characteristic ring-like shape surrounding a lagoon. Atolls are formed when coral reef grows around a volcanic island that later subsides into the ocean.
Definition: The marine benthic biome (benthic meaning 'bottom') encompasses the seafloor and includes such areas as shores, littoral or intertidal areas, marine coral reefs, and the deep seabed.
Definition: muscular waves propelling an animal over a mucus layer overlaying the substrate; alternating regions of muscular contraction and expansion create traveling waves that shear the mucus, resulting in translation of the animal.
Definition: Component found in mineralized skeletal tissue, (a specialized form of biogenic tissue in which the extracellular matrix is mineralized, and which functions in mechanical and structural support.)
Definition: Capable of creating a new organism by combining the genetic material of two gametes, which may come from two parent organisms or from a single organism, in the case of self-fertilizing hermaphrodites.
Definition: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
Definition: position of an organism in a food web. May be described verbally with descriptors including primary producer, herbivore or carnivore. If described numerically, 1 indicates a primary producer, 2 a herbivore, and so on up the food web.
Definition: The institution that holds a type specimen for a given species. The recommended best practice is to use the identifier in a collections registry such as the Biodiversity Collections Index (http://www.biodiversitycollectionsindex.org/).
Definition: Relative to pinhole eyes, lens eyes have greatly improved resolution and image brightness. The lens converges incoming rays of light, thereby reducing the angle over which each photoreceptor receives light, and forming an image focused on the retina. Most lens eyes have "accommodation"; they can focus an image either by physically moving the lens toward or away from the retina or by using eye muscles to adjust the shape of the lens.
