Bycatch: anything caught unintentionally in fishing nets
Carapace: the upper portion of a turtle’s shell
Cloaca: the single opening under a turtle’s tail that is used for digestive, urinary and reproductive functions
Clutch: a group of eggs laid by a female at one time
Critically endangered: the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has various levels of concern for species facing extinction; critically endangered is the highest risk for extinction in the near future
Ecotherms: animals that depend on the environment to maintain their body temperature; also known as “cold-blooded”
Endangered: the IUCN category just below “critically endangered”
Estivate: to spend the summer in a dormant state
Gravid: pregnant; carrying eggs or young
Habitat: an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism
Headstarting: the act of artificially aiding in the incubating or raising of wildlife, to hopefully increase their chance of survival
Hibernate: to spend the winter in a dormant state
Incubate: to sit on eggs in order to keep them warm and bring them to hatching
Physiology: the way in which the various body systems work
Plastron: the lower portion of a turtle’s shell
Radio telemetry: the act of following a wild animal by using a receiver that is programmed to detect a device attached to the animal
Scutes: the horny plates that cover a turtle’s shell. They are made of living tissue and contain nerve endings, making it possible for turtles to feel when something touches their shell.
Second intention: the way in which a wound will heal if left to its own devices
Semi-aquatic: animals that divide their time between the water and the land
Vertebrates: Animals that have a backbone or spinal column—including mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians