Definition: An alpine condition is an environmental condition in which the monthly mean temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and which occurs at altitudes above the tree line and below the snowline.
Definition: Component found in mineralized skeletal tissue, (a specialized form of biogenic tissue in which the extracellular matrix is mineralized, and which functions in mechanical and structural support.)
Definition: the method used by some animals (e.g. bats, dolphins and some whales) to determine the location of something by measuring the time it takes for an echo to return from it. These animals emit sound waves and listen for the echo, calculating the distance to the object from the time lapse between sound emission and the echo returning.
Definition: Because of the difference in refractive index between air and water (or corneal tissue), a curved cornea is an image-forming lens in its own right. Its focal length is determined by the radius of curvature of the cornea. Many corneal eyes (eg: in land vertebrates) also have lenses, but the lens is flattened and weakened compared with an aquatic lens; most of the refractive power is provided by the cornea. Corneal eyes cannot focus in aquatic habitat.
