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S eries G lossary of K ey T erms

Alleles different forms of a gene; offspring inherit one allele from each parent

Amphibian a cold-blooded organism who lives in the water during its early life and then on land as an adult

Behavior the actions of an animal

Conditioning a type of learning where an animal reacts to either a good or a bad response to an ac- tion

Dominant the allele that provides a trait that always appears in the organism

Genes information within the DNA of a cell that controls a specific trait

Instinct a behavior an organism is born with which it does right the first time

Lift the difference in pressure between the top of a bird, or airplane, wing and the bottom, en- abling flight to occur

Poaching the illegal hunting of animals

Recessive an allele that is masked by a dominant allele

Reptile a cold-blooded animal that lays eggs on land and has dry, scaly skin

Traits characteristics of an organism that are passed to the next generation

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