Definission: Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
Definission: Description of the relationships among individuals within a population of organisms, including reproductive relationships (mating system), relationships within each sex, adult – young interactions, helpers and cooperation (group living).
Definission: Solitary animals are those that spend a majority of their lives without others of their species, with possible exceptions for mating and raising their young. Antonyms for a solitary animal include a social animal or a colonial animal.
Definission: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
Definission: The institution that holds a type specimen for a given species. The recommended best practice is to use the identifier in a collections registry such as the Biodiversity Collections Index (http://www.biodiversitycollectionsindex.org/).
Definission: Age when primary nutritional dependency on the mother ends and independent foraging begins to make a major contribution to the offspring’s energy requirements.
