Glossary

Amorphous - having no fixed form or shape

Antennae - sense organ used to touch objects

Antennules - sense organs used to smell and find food

Asphyxiation - inability to breathe or exchange gases (carbon dioxide and oxygen), usually resulting in death

Autotomy - spontaneous removal or casting off of a body part (such as the tail of a lizard or claw of a crab) especially when the organism is injured or under attack

Bacterium - a single-celled microorganism which lack well-defined nucleus

Biosecurity - the sum of the management practices in place to reduce risk by ensuring the absolute health of the cultured animals, therefore protecting the financial investment and increasing profitabilty for the producer

Brackish - a mixture of salt and fresh water; moderately salty

Broodstock - adult crabs kept for purposes of reproduction

Calcareous - containing calcium carbonate

Chitin - the main component of crustacean exoskeletons

Chitinolytic - able to digest chitin

Cirriped - a type of barnacle

Crustacean - a class of organisms that have a hard outer skeleton called exoskeleton (includes crabs, shrimps, prawns and lobsters)

Decapod - crustaceans with five pairs of appendages for movement each joined to a segment of the thorax

Debris - the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up

Ecdysis - molting

Estuary - a semi-closed body of water where freshwater from rivers meet sea water from the ocean

Eukaryotic - the type of cell containing a true nucleus bounded by a nuclear membrane

Exoskeleton - the hard outer covering of crustacean and other invertebrates

Flabellum - a hairy fan-like structure that sweeps over the gill lamellae to keep them clean

Fungus, Fungi (pl.) - any of numerous plants lacking chlorophyll, ranging in form from a single cell to a body of branched filaments. Includes the yeasts, molds, smuts, and mushrooms

Habitat - place where an animal or plant lives

Hemolymph - blood of crustaceans and other invertebrates that have open circulatory system

Hepatopancreas - the digestive organ of crustaceans that also functions in absorption and storage of food

Histology - the study of tissues

Intermolt - time or state of crab growth between molts

Larva - an early developmental stage of an animal

Megalopa - the second larval stage of crabs coming after the zoeal stages of crabs

Molting (ecdysis) - the process in which crustaceans including crabs shed their shells to allow them to grow

Mycelium, Mycelia (pl.) - a mass of interwoven filamentous ‘threads’ that make up the vegetative part of a fungus

Nematode - an elongated, cylindrical worm parasitic in animals, insects, or plants, or free-living in soil or water

Parasite - an organism that lives in or on another organism (the host) during some portion of its life cycle

Pathogen - a disease-causing organism

Pedunculate - has a stalk

pH - a measure of the concentration of hydrogen and hydroxide ions. pH values range from 0 to 14. A neutral solution has a pH of 7. A pH less than 7 indicates an acidic solution while a pH greater than 7 indicates an alkaline solution

Population - a group of individuals of the same species within a given space and time

Predator - an animal that attacks and feeds on other animals, normally killing several individuals during its life cycle

Preening - the act of cleaning, grooming and maintaining parts of the body

Prokaryotic - the type of cell whose nuclear substance is not enlosed within a membrane

Protozoan - a microscopic, single-celled organism that is largely aquatic and includes many parasitic forms

Quarantine - restrictions imposed on animals entering or leaving premises on account of suspected disease agents. It is the act of keeping animals separated for a period of time before, for instance, allowing them to enter another country. By doing this, it is possible to limit the risk of spreading disease

Salinity - the total amount of salt present in water

Saprophytes - organisms growing on decayed animal or plant matter, as most bacteria and fungi

Septicemia - blood poisoning caused by pathogenic organisms

Soft-shell - crabs that have shed their hard outer shells in preparation for growth

Spawner - a mature female crustacean that produces eggs in large numbers

Spore - a reproductive structure developing in certain bacteria and fungi which is strongly resistant to environmental influences but which will become active under suitable conditions

Transmission - the passing of a disease from an infected individual or group to a previously

Virus - any of various submicroscopic pathogens which can only replicate inside a living cell

Zoea - the free-swimming first larval form of some decapod crustaceans

Zoospore - a motile, asexually produced spore

Web-based Resources

www.aquatext.com = a free online aquaculture dictionary with over 2,500 aquaculture definitions including 280 tables, 250 pictures and 120 calculations

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/glossary.htm http://www.mesa.edu.au/friends/seashores/glossary.html 

http://www.seasky.org/aquarium/sea3a.html = the site provides definitions for some of the most common terms used in the marine aquarium hobby.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Biology