LEARNING HUB · GLOSSARY
A working vocabulary for biodiversity evidence
Definitions of biodiversity terms as used in SpeciesWatch, with concise cautions for interpreting conservation data and evidence.
- Abundance
- The number of individuals in a defined place and time.
- Occurrence dots do not measure abundance.
- Active-fire detection
- A satellite observation of unusual thermal energy at a location.
- A red dot can indicate fire or another intense heat source.
- Biodiversity
- Variation among living organisms, including genes, species and ecosystems.
- A species count captures only one dimension of biodiversity.
- Conservation status
- A category summarizing assessed extinction risk under defined criteria.
- Critically Endangered is a risk category, not a countdown date.
- Data deficient
- A category used when available information is inadequate for a risk assessment.
- Missing evidence must not be interpreted as low risk.
- Endemic
- Native to and restricted to a particular geographic area.
- A local disturbance can affect a large share of a narrowly endemic species.
- Extinction
- The loss of the last living individual of a species.
- Extinct in the Wild is distinct from Extinct.
- Habitat fragmentation
- The division of connected habitat into smaller, isolated patches.
- Roads can limit movement even when habitat remains on both sides.
- Indicator
- A measurement chosen to represent part of a more complex condition.
- The SpeciesWatch Extinction Clock is a 0–100 editorial urgency index.
- Invasive alien species
- A non-native organism whose introduction or spread threatens biodiversity.
- Not every introduced species becomes invasive.
- Occurrence record
- Evidence that an organism was recorded at a place and usually a time.
- Many records may describe repeated visits, not different animals.
- Population trend
- The assessed direction of population change over time.
- Decreasing does not state the exact rate of decline.
- Protected area
- A geographically defined place managed to achieve conservation objectives.
- Designation alone does not measure management effectiveness.
- Range
- The geographic area across which a species is known or expected to occur.
- A point map is not automatically a complete range map.
- Sampling bias
- Systematic distortion caused by where, when or how observations are collected.
- Accessible and well-studied places often have more records.
- Threat
- A process capable of causing population decline or habitat degradation.
- Pollution, exploitation and climate stress can interact.
- Uncertainty
- The bounded lack of knowledge around a measurement or interpretation.
- Responsible reporting states uncertainty instead of hiding it.
- Vulnerability
- The degree to which a species or system is susceptible to harm.
- Exposure to fire and sensitivity to fire are different components.