
a Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
The usual abbreviation for *year (from the Latin annus, meaning year).

Aapa mires Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
*Fens, sometimes called ‘string bogs’, of circumpolar distribution, found in Fennoscandia (see

abaptation Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
The process by which an organism is fitted to its environment as a consequence of the characters it inherits, which have been filtered by ...

abaxial Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
Of a plant organ, facing away from the axis or main stem (e.g. the lower surface of leaves). Compare

abiogenesis Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)

ablation Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)

abrasion Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
The erosive (see

abscission Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
The rejection of plant organs (e.g. of leaves in autumn). This occurs at an abscission zone, where hydrolytic (see...

absolute age Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
The age of a geologic phenomenon measured in present Earth years, rather than its age relative to other geologic phenomena (...

absolute pollen frequency Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)

absorption Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
The uptake of substances, usually nutrients, water, or light, by cells or tissues.

absorption spectrum Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
A graph that shows the percentage of each wavelength of light absorbed by a pigment (e.g. chlorophyll, which absorbs mainly in the red and blue parts of the spectrum)....

abstraction Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
The artificial removal of water from a well, reservoir, or river.

abyssal Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
Applied to the deepest part of the ocean, at depths between about 3000 m and 6000 m (see

abyssal fish Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)

abyssalpelagic zone Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)

abyssal plain Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
An extensive, level area of the *abyssal zone, lying between the edge of a *continental rise and a mid-oceanic ...

Acanthocephala Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)

acaricide Quick reference
A Dictionary of Ecology (5 ed.)
A pesticide used to kill mites and ticks (subclass Acari).