| target species |
| the intended catch of a fishery. (Opposite: bycatch) |
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| taxonomy |
| the naming and assignment of organisms to taxa. |
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| terminator technology |
the genetic engineering of plants to produce sterile seeds.
It is considered the most morally offensive application of agricultural biotechnology, because over 1.4 billion people depend on farm-saved seeds. See also: traitor technology. |
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| Tertiary period |
| the first period of the Cenozoic era, beginning 65 million years ago and closing with the start of the Pleistocene, 2.5 million years ago. |
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| threatened species |
| species that are, often genetically impoverished, of low fecundity, dependent on patchy or unpredictable resources, extremely variable in population density, persecuted or otherwise prone to extinction in human-dominated landscapes. [GBA] |
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| tissue culture |
- a technique in which portions of a plant or animal are grown on an artificial culture medium. (Also: in vitro culture.)
- in vitro methods of propagating cells from animal or plant tissue. [CUB] |
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| total economic value |
| the sum of use and non-use values with due consideration of any trade-offs or mutually exclusive uses or functions of the resource/habitat in question. [GBA] |
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| traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) |
| the primary healthcare for 20% of the world's population, the system of medicine developed over thousands of years in China, which treats the patient holistically, and includes herbal preparations - usually combinations of between five and ten species. [CUB] |
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| traditional knowledge |
| the knowledge, innovations and practices of local and indigenous communities. As used in the CBD, those elements of traditional knowledge that are relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. [CUB] |
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| transformation |
| uptake of naked DNA by a competent recipient strain. [CUB] |
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| transgenic |
| organisms into which DNA from another genotype are introduced by, for example, micro-injection or retroviral infection. [CUB] |
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| trophic |
- pertaining to food or nutrition.
- referring to the nutrients available to and used within a population, community, or ecosystem. |
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| trophic level |
- position in the food chain, determined by the number of energy-transfer steps to that level.
- feeding level in food chain or pyramid; for example, herbivores (organisms that eat plants) constitute one trophic level. |
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| ultraviolet radiation |
| radiation beyond the violet (high energy) end of the visible light spectrum. UV-B is the middle range wave-length of the three UV bands, and is largely absorbed in the Earth's atmospheric ozone layer; prolonged exposure to UV-B can be biologically damaging. |
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| umbrella species |
| species whose occupancy area (plants) or home range (animals) are large enough and whose habitat requirements are wide enough that, if they are given a sufficiently large area for their protection, will bring other species under that protection. [GBA] |
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| unintended release |
| any release of GMOs which is not a deliberate release [BSWG/2/5: UNEP Expert Panel IV Report] |
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| upwelling |
| a process by which water rises from lower depths into the shallows, usually the result of divergence or offshore currents. |
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| valuation |
- the attachment of monetary value to an object through a consideration of both internalised and externalised costs.
- this is a method for determining the importance of environmental consequences of economic activity that are not taken into account in market transactions. [GBA] |
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| variety |
| a taxonomic rank below subspecies in zoology and botany, varieties are often the result of selective breeding and diverge from the parent species or subspecies in distinct but relatively minor ways. Usage varies in different countries. [CUB, modified by JVG] |
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| vector |
| 'a carrier'. In genetic manipulation the vehicle by which DNA is transferred from one cell to another. An agent of transmission; for example, a DNA vector is a self-replicating segment of DNA that transmits genetic information from one cell or organism to another. [CUB] |
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| virus |
| the smallest known type of organism. A non cellular entity that consists minimally of protein and nucleic acid, and that can replicate only after entry into specific types of living cells, and then only by usurping the cell's own systems. [CUB] |
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| voucher specimens |
| collections of organisms that are maintained to provide permanent, physical documentation of species identifications and associated data resulting from inventories. |
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