ACAP – Atlantic Coastal Action Program
Angler - A fisherman who uses a hook.
Atlantic Whitefish – a member of the Salmonidae family, the Atlantic Whitefish is endangered and found only in the Petite Riviere Watershed in Nova Scotia.
Biomass - the amount of living matter in a unit area or volume of habitat
Braiding - A branched section of a river consisting of multiple parallel river channels.
Dam – An artificial physical barrier constructed across a river or waterway for impounding or diverting the flow of water. Dams may be used for flood control, irrigation, hydropower, and/or recreation usage. POWER dams raise the level of streams and rivers to create or concentrate head for power generation. They can have negative impacts on fish population because they cause sedimentation, warming of the water and irregular flow changes.
Deflector - A habitat improvement structure, made of a variety of materials (logs, rocks), used to create fish and aquatic macro-invertebrate habitat. These structures are built outward into the river channel from either one or both banks in order to direct water flow away from the banks and consequently preventing stream bank erosion. Deflectors are especially effective in wide, shallow, low gradient streams because they also provide desirable scouring and sorting of channel materials, pools and cover.
Degradation - A decline or reduction in quality, that causes damage, as in the general lowering of the streambed by erosive processes.
Digger Log - A river restoration structure that consists of hardwood logs (~ 6-9ft long, 8 inches in diameter) secured to the streambed at a 30 degree angle to the bank. Boulders and cobble from the downstream side of the log are removed and placed upstream to create a ramp, causing the water to cascade over the log. These structures help to re-establish the natural meander of the stream, create pools and gravel beds for fish spawning, clean and oxygenate the water, and also provide quality habitat for aquatic insects.
Ecology – The study of our natural environment and the relationships between all organisms with each other and to their surroundings.
Endangered Species – mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians that are in danger of extinction, usually because of environmental changes and human activity
Endemic – restricted to a specific region
Fry- A small fish, recently hatched.
GIS – Geographic Information System – An organized collection of computer hardware and software designed to efficiently create, manipulate, analyze, and display all types of geographically or spatially referenced data. A GIS allows complex spatial operations that are very difficult to do otherwise.
Gristmill - A mill for grinding grain. Gristmills used to be a common site along many rivers in Lunenburg County.
Habitat - The environment in which a plant or animal species naturally lives or grows; also includes the particular characteristics of the soil, water, and biologic community of the given place that make it especially well suited to meet the life cycle needs of that species.
Hydrologic Cycle – The movement of water through the ecosystem
Low Flow - A certain time of year when a river’s water level is at its most shallow, usually July and August.
Marine
Relating to the ocean; native to, or inhabiting the sea. Marine biology is the scientific study of ocean life such as marine plants and animals.
Meteorology – study of the atmosphere, its phenomena; especially weather and weather forecasting
Niskin bottle – Niskin bottles are used for collecting water at specific depths. The bottles are lowered into the water on a wire or rope to the specified sampling depth. A messenger is then sent down the wire to quickly close the top and bottom of the bottles, trapping water inside the bottles. The bottles are then brought to the surface where the water is let out into sample collection bottles.
NSYCC - Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps
Oceanography – the field of science dealing with oceans, including the dimension of their extent and depth, the physics and chemistry of their waters, marine biology, and the exploitation of their resources
Optical - relates to the science of optics. Optics is a branch of physics that describes the behavior and properties of light and the interaction of light with matter.
Phytoplankton - very small free-floating aquatic plants such as one-celled algae
Rock Sill - Similar in purpose to a digger log but made of non-acid bearing rock and used on a larger scale, usually on wider rivers. Rocks are placed so that they form a ‘sill’ allowing the water to cascade over causing a natural digging action that forms a pool below and stirs up the gravel facilitating spawning bed formation. Rock sills additionally help to restore natural pools, increase oxygen levels, and cool the river temperature.
Roseate Tern – A Roseate tern resembles a small gull. Like other terns, they have a small body in proportion to long pointed wings and are close in size to a morning dove. Roseate tails are deeply forked and longer than both of the tails of the Arctic and Common terns. Their bills are mostly black and they have bright red feet with a much paler body overall when compared to the other two terns. Another defining feature is the lack of an outer black edge on their wing tips.
Salinity - the concept of saltiness of a body of water.
Secchi disk - A Secchi disk is a black and white metal disk that is used to measure the transparency or clarity of water. The disk is lowered into the water until it is no longer visible, this is referred to as the Secchi depth and is used to determine the clarity of the water.
Spawning Areas - Where fish and other water dwelling organisms deposit and fertilize eggs during reproduction. Areas associated with flowing water and clean gravel.
Stewardship – Watershed residents making a conscious effort in their lifestyle to lessen personal impact upon the environment with responsible choices and actions.
Suspended Sediment – is the part of a stream's total sediment load carried in the water column.
Threatened Species – a species that might become endangered within a short period of time
Tributary – a stream flowing into a larger stream or lake
Watershed – The drainage area of a stream or river
Weir – A low dam built in a river or across a stream to raise the water level or divert the flow.
Last Modified: Wed, Jun 18, 2008
