Dam:  an outdoor barrier that is built to control the flow of water. A dam can reduce the amount water flowing downstream.

Digests:  changes food into energy, as in “we digest our lunch.”  The green pitcher plant digests insects, food that allows it to grow.

Environment:  surroundings that include soil, water, climate, and living things.  A healthy environment helps all living things.

Filters: holds onto little things but allows water to pass through.  In filtering water, a mussel inhales water and then acts as a strainer, holding onto little creatures or bits of plants as food before releasing the water.  
See the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site:
http://www.fish.state.pa.us/anglerboater/2007/02marapr/play2healthy.pdf

Free-flowing Stream:  water that moves, without being controlled by
structures like dams.  Clean, free-flowing streams are important to
many species of fish and wildlife. 

Fringes:   hanging threads or strips.  In the case of the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, the fringes are strips of skin on its feet that help it move through sand.

Graze:  to eat growing grass or other plants.  Cattle and bison graze on plants.

Habitat:  the place where plants or animals live.  Good habitat provides food and shelter.

Intense:   extreme.  “Intense desert heat” means extreme heat—that is, it’s very hot in the desert.

Particles: very small pieces.  Mussels filter particles from water that they take in through a siphon—a little tube— and across their gills.

Patches:   spots of color.  The spectacled eider has white patches around its eyes.

 

Pollinates: moves pollen from one flower to another.  Pollen is material
that allows flowers to make seeds.  Since plants can’t move,
they need pollinators such as insects, bats, birds, and wind to move pollen
and help them make more plants.

Predators:  animals that hunt for other animals as food.
Hawks and owls are predators, hunting for small animals such as mice.

Region: an area.  The Ozark Mountains are in the southeast region of the country.

Reptiles:  cold-blooded, air-breathing animals such as snakes,
lizards, turtles, and alligators.  Many reptiles lay eggs and have skin covered with scales.




 

Saguaro Cactus:  known for its “arms,” this tall cactus lives in the desert
in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. 
The saguaro provides food for bats that eat its fruit and nectar—
and homes to birds that build their nests in it.

Salamander:   an amphibian that looks like a lizard and has smooth, moist skin. The Black Warrior waterdog is actually a salamander!

Scales:  stiff, flat plates that form an outer body covering of animals.  The Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard has scales that protect its ears and nose from sand.

Sharp-Edged Hump:  a bulge or lump that ends in a point.  The razorback sucker is named for a sharp-edged hump on its back that is sharp, like a razor.

Spectacled:   having markings that look like eyeglasses. 
The spectacled eider looks as though it’s wearing a pair of glasses.

Streams:     bodies of running water, such as creeks or brooks. Streams run into the Black Warrior River.   

Water Pollution: chemicals, germs, or other things that make water unhealthy.  Water pollution is a threat to plants and animals that depend on clean water.

Wetlands:     areas such as marshes or swamps that tend to be wet or flooded.  In California, the eggs of tiny longhorn fairy shrimp depend on winter rains to create the wetlands they need to hatch.

With thanks to Merriam-Webster on-line:
http://aolsvc.merriam-webster.aol.com/wordcentral-aol.htm