ABSOLUTE ABUNDANCE: The total number of organisms in an area. Usually reported as absolute density: the number of organisms per unit area or volume.
ANAL PLATE: The large scale immediately anterior to the cloacal opening.
ANTERIOR: Pertaining to the head end.
BIODIVERSITY: Jargon for biological diversity: the variety of life forms, the ecological roles they perform, and the genetic diversity they contain (Wilcox 1984 cited in Murphy 1988).
BLUE LIST: Includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be Vulnerable in British Columbia. Vulnerable taxa are of special concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. Blue-listed taxa are at risk, but are not extirpated, endangered or threatened.
CHIN SHIELDS: Relatively large, plate-like scales on the chin.
CLOACA: The single chamber through which the contents of the digestive, excretory, and reproductive systems pass. Opens to the outside at the vent (cloacal opening).
CREPUSCULAR: Active at twilight.
DIURNAL: Active during the daytime.
DORSAL: Pertaining to the back (dorsum).
ECTOTHERMIC: Body temperature controlled by environment; no internal regulation.
GRAVID: Pregnant; bearing eggs or developing young internally.
HEMIPENES: Paired, eversible copulatory organs in male snakes and lizards.
HIBERNACULUM: A den; a site where animals aggregate to hibernate overwinter.
HIBERNATE: To enter an inactive or dormant state for the winter.
KEELED: Bearing a longitudinal medial ridge.
LABIALS: Scales on the lip.
LATERAL: Pertaining to the side.
MELANISTIC: Colour pattern obliterated by excessive number of melanophores causing the animal to appear very dark or uniformly black.
MICROCLIMATE: Small-scale variation in the environment (macrohabitat); an animal's immediate surroundings.
NOCTURNAL: Active at night.
OVIPAROUS: Eggs deposited; embryonic development outside the female's body.
PIT: A pit-shaped sensory structure between the eye and nostril of a rattlesnake.
POSTERIOR: Pertaining to the rear portion of the body.
PREFRONTALS: Scales of the head, located anterior of the frontals.
PREOCULARS: Scales immediately in front of the eye.
PRESENCE/NOT DETECTED (POSSIBLE): A survey intensity that verifies that a species is present in an area or states that it was not detected (thus not likely to be in the area, but still a possibility).
PROJECT AREA: An area, usually politically or economically determined, for which an inventory project is initiated. A project boundary may be shared by multiple types of resource and/or species inventory. Sampling generally takes place within smaller study areas within this project area.
RANDOM SAMPLE: A sample that has been selected by a random process, generally by reference to a table of random numbers.
RED LIST: Includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa) considered to be Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened in British Columbia. Extirpated taxa no longer exist in the wild in British Columbia, but do occur elsewhere. Endangered taxa are facing imminent extirpation or extinction. Threatened taxa are likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. Red-listed taxa include those that have been, or are being, evaluated for these designations.
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE: The number of organisms at one location or time relative to the number of organisms at another location or time. Generally reported as an index of abundance.
SEARCH UNITS: specific portions of the Study Area on which search effort was focused e.g. meadow, barn, talus slope.
STRATIFICATION: The separation of a sample population into non-overlapping groups based on a habitat or population characteristic that can be divided into multiple levels. Groups are homogeneous within, but distinct from, other strata.
STUDY AREA: A discrete area within a project boundary in which sampling actually takes place. Study areas should be delineated to logically group samples together, generally based on habitat or population stratification and/or logistical concerns.
SUBCAUDAL: Ventral scales on the tail.
SURVEY: The application of one RIC method to one taxonomic group for one season.
SVL: Snout-vent length, measured from tip of snout to anterior margin of vent.
SYSTEMATIC SAMPLE: a sample obtained by randomly selecting a point to start, and then repeating sampling at a set distance or time thereafter.
TL: Total length, measured from tip of snout to tip of tail.
VENTRAL: Pertaining to the underside, or venter; ventral scales (ventrals) are those on the underside of the body.
VIVIPAROUS: Females give birth to young and provide nutrients to developing embryos.
YELLOW-LIST: Includes any native species which is not red- or blue-listed.