Published by Australian Academy of Science
Glossary | Is Australian wildlife fair game?

culling. Reducing the size of a population by killing or removing a proportion of the plants or animals that make up the population.

extinction. The death of a species – when all populations of a species have disappeared. For more information see our Nova: Science in the news topic on Australia's threatened species.

population density. The total number of individuals of a species per unit area. Using density instead of total number gives a basis for comparison between numbers in different places or from time to time in the same place.

predation. The process in which an organism of one species (the predator) captures and feeds on parts or all of an organism of another species.