GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS
of terms related to the biodiversity

macroevolution

Age scale evolution, entailing major changes in biological traits.

managed forest

Productive forest where harvesting regulations are enforced, silvicultural treatments are carried out, and trees are protected from fires and diseases.

management of farm animal genetic resources

The sum total of technical, policy, and logistical operations involved in understanding (characterization), using and developing (utilization), maintaining (conservation), accessing, and sharing the benefits of animal genetic resources(genetic resource).

mangrove forest

A community of salt-tolerant trees, with associated shrubs or vines and other organisms, that grows in a zone roughly coinciding with the intertidal zone along tropical and subtropical coasts.

Manila Declaration

The Manila Declaration concerning the ethical utilization of biological resources(resource), developed at the ASOMPS VII meeting in Manila, Philippines, 2-7 February 1992.

marginal values

The change in the value of a resource that is due to an incremental change in its quantity.

mariculture

Controlled cultivation (farming) of marine organisms including marine fish, shellfish, mollusks, crustaceans and plants under specialized culture conditions (tanks, ponds, cages, rafts or other structures), for purposes of human consumption.

marine ecosystems

Regions of ocean space encompassing coastal areas from river basins to estuaries to the seaward boundary of continental shelves and seaward margins of coastal current systems. They are relatively large regions, characterized by distinct bathymetry, hydrography, productivity and trophically linked populations(population).

marine protected area (MPA)

An area of sea (or coast) especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, of natural and associated cultural resources(resource), and managed through legal or other effective means.

marker assisted selection

The use of molecular markers(molecular marker) to follow the inheritance of genes(gene), particularly those genes which cannot be readily identified. Selection of a marker flanking a gene of interest allows selection for the presence (or absence) of a gene in a new progeny.

mass selection

Breeding method whereby seed from a number of individuals is selected to form the next generation. Selection criteria are relaxed until later generations and crosses are performed at random.

maximum sustainable yield

- The largest yield that can be obtained which does not deplete or damage natural resources(resource) irreparably and which leaves the environment in good order for future generations. - The maximum amount of a species or group of species that can be taken without diminishing the future take.

mechanism-based screening

A receptor or enzyme-based screen against which a range of materials can be run, including natural products such as plants, marine organisms, fungi, and microorganisms(microorganism), but also synthetic compounds.

medicinal and aromatic plant material

Whole plants and plant parts (including seeds and fruits) used primarily in perfumery and pharmacy. Includes fresh, dried, uncut, cut, crushed, and powdered material.

medium-input production environment

A production environment where management of the available resources(resource)has the scope to overcome the negative effects of the environment on animal production, although it is common for one or more factors to limit output, survival or reproduction in a serious fashion.

medium input production environment

A production environment where management of the available resources(resource) has the scope to overcome the negative effects of the environment on animal production, although it is common for one or more factors to limit output, survival or reproduction in a serious fashion.

megadiversity countries

The small number of countries, located largely in the tropics, which account for a high percentage of the world’s biodiversity by virtue of containing very large numbers of species.

meiosis

The process of division of sexual cells in which the number of chromosomes in each nucleus is reduced to half the normal number found in normal somatic cells(somatic cell). When two sexual cells fuse, each contributes its half of the chromosomes. The resulting embryo contains the full chromosome complement. Cells with half the chromosomes are called haploids(haploid): those with the normal chromosomal complement, diploids(diploid).

meristem

The tip of a growing plant shoot or root.

meristem tip culture

A cell culture developed from a small portion of the meristem tissue of a plant.

mesopelagic

Referring to depths between 200 to 1,000 meters in the ocean, seas and lakes.

metabolites

Chemical products of metabolism; the biological synthesis or breakdown carried out by cells or their components.

metapopulation

A set of partially isolated populations(population) belonging to the same species. The different populations are able to exchange individuals and recolonize sites in which the species has recently become extinct.

microbe/ microbes

(syn.: microorganism/ microorganism)

microevolution

Evolutionary changes on the small scale, such as changes in gene frequencies within a population.

microorganisms

Groups of microscopic organisms, some of which cannot be detected without the aid of a light or electron microscope, including the viruses(viruse), the prokaryotes(prokaryote) (bacteria and archaea), eukaryotic life forms (protozoa, filamentous fungi, yeasts and microalgae) or other microscopic self-replicating biotic entity.

micropropagation

The use of biotechnological methods to grow large numbers of plants from very small pieces of plants, often from single cells using tissue culture methods.

minimum viable population

The smallest isolated population having a good chance of surviving for a given number of years despite the foreseeable effects of demographic, environmental, and genetic events and natural catastrophes. (The probability of persistence and the time of persistence are often taken to be 99 percent and 1000 years, respectively.)

molecular marker

A molecular selection technique of DNA signposts which allows the identification of differences in the nucleotide sequences of the DNA in different individuals. Agriculture: a tool which allows crop geneticists and breeders to locate on a plant chromosome the genes(gene) for a trait of interest. It is considered more efficient than conventional breeding as it has the potential to greatly reduce development times and substitutes laboratory selection for much of the fieldwork.

monitoring

The intermittent (regular or irregular) surveillance to ascertain the extent of compliance with a predetermined standard or degree of deviation from an expected norm (Hellawell, 1991).

monophyletic group

Set of species containing a common ancestor and all its descendants.

Montpellier Declaration

The Montpellier Declaration on the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

MOSAICC

MOSAICC is a voluntary code of conduct developed to facilitate easy access to and international circulation of microbial genetic resources(genetic resource) (MGRs) for the benefit of sciences and world-wide sustainable development in the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

multiple use

An on-site management strategy that encourages an optimum mix of several uses on a parcel of land or water or by creating a mosaic of land or water parcels, each with a designated use within a larger geographic area.

mutagen

Agent that induces a mutation within an organism, such as X-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, and certain chemicals such as carcinogens. KP is an agent capable of inducing a mutation (a change that alters the sequence or chemistry of bases in the DNA molecule) in the genetic material of an organism.

mutation

Any change in the genotype of an organism occurring at the gene, chromosome or genome level.

mutualism

A kind of symbiotic interspecific relationship, such as the one between sea-anemones and clown-fishes, corals and zooxanthellae, flower pollination by insects, in which both species benefit; the relationship can be obligate or facultative for one or both.

mycorrhizal fungi

A fungus living in a mutualistic association with plants and facilitating nutrient and water uptake.