Glossary

22 terms beginning with W

1. wadi

   Arabic term used to refer to a valley, stream-bed or other watercourse that only holds water during the rainy season. Often associated with oases and normally applied only in certain Arabic-speaking countries.

   Used in 1 profile

2. Wallace's line

   Hypothetical line, proposed by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace that marks the transitional boundary between the Oriental and Australian zoogeographical regions. It passes between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi to its northern limit, Bali and Lombok to the south. To the west of the line organisms descended from Asiatic ancestors predominate, while to the east there exist species of both Asian and Australian origin.

   Used in 1 profile

3. warm water

   Used in reference to water bodies with a temperature that exceeds 75.2°C/24°C during the summer.

   Used in 3 profiles

4. water column

   Conceptual column representing the vertical section of a water body from surface to substrate.

   Used in 124 profiles

5. water table

   The point below which the ground is saturated with water.

   Used in 1 profile

6. watercourse

   A natural or artificial channel through which water flows; a stream or river.

   Used in 1 profile

7. watershed

   An ridge or otherwise elevated piece of land that physically separates areas drained by different river systems. Also used to refer to an area or region drained by a particular river, river system, or other water body.

   Used in 165 profiles

8. wave maker

   Electrical, often programmable, timing device that alternates power supply to multiple, submerged powerheads at predetermined time intervals. Most often used in marine aquaria to simulate natural wave action.

9. Weberian apparatus

   Anatomical structure connecting the swim bladder to the inner ear found in members of the fish superorder Ostariophysi. Conveys sound and changes in pressure, and comprises four or five modified vertebrae.

   Used in 5 profiles

10. Weberian ossicle

    Any of the modified vertebrae comprising the Weberian apparatus in Ostariophysian fishes, individually named the claustrum, scaphium, intercalarium and tripus.

11. Weberian vertebra

    See Weberian ossicle.

12. weir

    Low dam constructed across a river to raise the water level, divert the water, or control its flow; series of traps or enclosures designed to catch fishes.

    Used in 1 profile

13. Western Ghats

    Mountain range extending southwards down the western side of India from the borders of Gujarat and Maharashtra states, through Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala as far as Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. The Ghats are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and represent one of the eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity in the world, and is home to a number of endemic fish species.

    Used in 44 profiles

14. wet/dry filter

    Type of filter normally placed under the aquarium, and often home-made. The basic premise is that water trickles vertically downards through separated compartments containing mechanical and biological filter media with spaces inbetween so that it is also exposed to the air briefly. It then collects in a base chamber or sump from where it is pumped back to the main aquarium. There are many commercial designs available, some of which are more effective than others. Not popular in marine reef aquaria due to the associated accumulation of nitrates as by-product.

15. wetland

    Area of ground saturated with, normally shallow, fresh, salt or brackish water on a permanent or seasonal basis, e.g., marshes, bogs, swamps.

    Used in 35 profiles

16. white spot

    See ich.

17. white worm

    Vernacular name for the annelid worm Enchytraeus albidus Henle, 1937, a species commonly cultured by aquarists for use as live fish food.

    Used in 8 profiles

18. whitebait

    Collective term for the young of various fishes, especially herring and sprat. Sometimes used as food for predatory species in aquaria.

    Used in 48 profiles

19. whitewater

    In ichthyological and aquarium literature typically refers to habitats with turbid water containing material in suspension and often rich in nutrients and dissolved ions, thus differing from clearwater or blackwater environments. Not to be confused with the term 'white water' which refers to turbulent water typically formed in rapids.

    Used in 17 profiles

20. wild-collected

    In reference to aquarium fishes, caught in the natural habitat; not bred in captivity.

    Used in 10 profiles

21. wormer

    A substance administered in order to rid an animal of parasitic worms.

22. worms (parasite)

    Any species of nematode worm which spends part of its life cycle as an internal parasite within a fish's intestinal system.