SAVE THE SAN FRANCISCO GARTER SNAKE

Aesthetic Value: Aesthetic value is the value that an object, event or state of affairs (most paradigmatically an artwork or the natural environment) possesses in virtue of its capacity to elicit pleasure (positive value) or displeasure (negative value) when appreciated or experienced aesthetically (Plato, L., & Meskin, A, 2013).

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Amphibians: any cold blooded vertebrate of the class Amphibia, comprising frogs and toads, newts and salamanders, and caecilians, the larvae being typically aquatic, breathing by gills, and the adults being typically semiterrestrial, breathing by lungs and through the moist, glandular skin (dictionary.com, 2018)

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Anadromous: migrating from salt water to spawn in fresh water (dictionary.com, 2018)

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Bequest Value: Value, defined by willingness to pay, to ensure that peoples' offspring or future generations inherit a particular environmental asset (Bequest value, 2008).

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Biotic Potential: Maximum rate at which the population of a given species can increase when there are no limits on its rate of growth (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Biological Extinction: Complete disappearance of a species from the earth. It happens when a species cannot adapt and successful reproduce under new environment conditions or when a species evolves into one or more new species (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Carnivorous: (an animal) feeding on other animals (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Center for Biological Diversity: nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism (Cneter for Biological Diversity, 2018). 

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Coevolution: Evolution in which two species interact and exert selective pressures on each other that can lead each species to undergo adaptation (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Delisting: to be removed from the list of endangered species.

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Detritivores: Consumer organism that feeds on detritus, parts of dead organisms, and cast off fragments and wastes of living organisms (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).  

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Downlisting: To be moved from critically endangered to endangered, or endangered to threatened on the ESA.

Ecological Value: Level of benefits that the space. water, minerals, biota, and all other factors that make up natural ecosystems provide to support native life forms (Cordell, K. H., Murphy, D., Riitters, K. H., & Harvey, J. E., 1970).

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Ecologically Extinct: when so few members of a species are left that they are unable to carry out their role in an ecosystem (Morrow, 2017).

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Ecosystem: One or more communities of different species interacting with one another and woth the chemical and physical (dictionary.com, 2018).

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Endangered: Wild species with so few individual survivors that the species could soon become extinct in all or most of its natural range (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Endemic: Species that is found in only one area. Such species are usually vulnerable to extinction (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Ephemeral: Lasting a very short time (dictionary.com, 2017).

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Extinction: Complete disappearance of a species from the earth. It happens when a species cannot adapt and successfully reproduce under new environmental conditions (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Food Chain: A series of organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, etc (dictionary.com, 2017).

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Functionally Extinct: when that species cannot be found anywhere in natural environments, or if mating pairs number so few there is virtually no chance of their species’ survival (Functional Extinction, 2017)

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Gene Pool: Sum total of all genes found in the individuals of the population of a particular species (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Geographic Isolation: Separation of populations of a species into different areas for long periods of time (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Habitat: Place or type of place where an organism or population of organism lives (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Habitat Fragmentation: Break up of a habitat into smaller pieces, usually as a result of human activities (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Interspecific Competition: Attempts by a member of two or more species to use the same resource in an ecosystem (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Intrinsic Value: Value of an organism, species, ecosystem, or the earth’s biodiversity based on its existence, regardless of whether it has any usefulness to humans (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Invasive: Not native to and tend to spread widely in a habitat. Invasive species often have few natural predators or other biological controls in their new environment. Although not always considered harmful to an environment, invasive species can become agricultural or ecological pests and can displace native species from their habitats (dictionary.com, 2017).

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Locally Extinct: species no longer found in an area it once inhabited but is still found elsewhere in the world (Morrow, 2017).

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Mammals: any vertebrate of the class Mammalia, having the body more or less covered with hair, nourishing the young with milk from the mammary glands, and, with the exception of the egg-laying monotremes, giving birth to live young (dictionary.com, 2018).

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Native: Species that normally life and thrive in a particular ecosystem (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Niche: Total way of life or role of species in an ecosystem. It includes all physical, chemical, and biological conditions that a species needs to live and reproduce in an ecosystem (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Nonnative: Species that migrate to an ecosystem or are deliberately or accidentally introduced into an ecosystem by humans (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Non-profit organizations: an organization not established for the purpose of making a profit (dictionary.com, 2018).

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Nutrient Cycling: The circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment (mostly from soil and water)through organisms and back to the water (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Overpopulated: to fill with an excessive number of people, straining available resources and facilities (dictionary.com).

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Ovoviviparous: Producing eggs that are hatched within the body, so that the young are born alive but without placental attachment (dictionary.com, 2017).

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Pesticides: a chemical preparation for destroying plant, fungal, or animal pests (dictionary.com, 2018).

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Predation: Interaction in which an organism of one species (the predator) captures and feeds on some or all parts of an organism of another species (the prey) (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Predator: Organism that captures and feeds on some or all parts of an organism of another species (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Prey: Organism that is killed by an of another species and serves as its source of food (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Reptile: any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs (dictionary.com).

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Restricted Range: the habitat range of a species that is only found in one area or in small patches across a span of land (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Sag Pond: a small seasonal pond formed along the San Andreas fault in the northern part of the San Francisco Peninsula, collectively called “Skyline ponds” (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 1985)

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Sanctuary: a tract of land where birds and wildlife, especially those hunted for sport, can breed and take refuge in safety from hunters (dictionary.com, 2018)

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Specialist Species: Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Species: Group of similar organisms, and for sexually reproducing organisms, they are a set of individuals that can mate and produce fertile offspring. Every organism is a member of a certain species (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Specific Food Requirements: A specialist species that will only eat a specific food. If this food is scarce, it can cause the species to move towards extinction (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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Specific Nesting Requirements: A specialist species that can only thrive in one environment, climate, or habitat. If this habitat changes or is destroyed, the species may face extinction (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

Thermoregulation: Maintenance of a constant internal body temperature independent of the environmental temperature (dictionary.com, 2017).

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US Endangered Species Act: This law requires the federal government to protect actively each of the hundreds of species listed as endangered-regardless of the economic effect on the surrounding towns or region (Morrow, 2017).

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Agency manages National wildlife refuges, protects endangered species, manages migratory birds, restores nationally significant fisheries and enforces federal wildlife laws (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2018).

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Venomous: (of an animal) having a gland or glands for secreting venom; able to inflict a poisoned bite, sting, or wound (dictionary.com, 2018)

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Wetlands: Land that is covered all or part of the time with saltwater or freshwater, excluding streams, lakes, and the open ocean (Miller, G. T., & Spoolman, S., 2018).

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World Conservation Union: The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it (IUCN, 2018).