| MAC |
Marine Aquarium Council, an international nonprofit
organization established to create a certification system for ornamental
marine fish captured via sustainable techniques and held and handled
under the best management practices |
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| Macroalgae |
one of larger than microscopic size; to aquarists, any seaweed with
a noninvasive growth habit exhibited in a marine aquarium |
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| Macrodactyla |
Indo-Pacific sea anemone often collected and exhibited as a host
for clownfish; it is generally hardy in the aquarium |
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| Macropharyngodon |
marine wrasses, Family Labridae, often collected because of their
bright coloration, but seldom successfully adapted to the aquarium
because of their specialized feeding habits |
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| Macropodus |
paradise fish, anabantids notable for beautiful coloration and often
pugnacious behabior; they are more tolerant of cool temperatures than
other members of the family |
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| Macrosymbiont |
the larger organism in a relationship in which two species are characteristically
found in each other's presence |
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| Madreporite |
the external opening of the water vascular system of echinoderms |
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| Magnesium |
a chemical element (Mg) present in seawater at a concentration of
1290 parts per million; its carbonate salts comprise a portion of
the hardness value of fresh water |
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| Mandible |
in inverterbrates, any moveable jaw element; in verterbrates, only
the lower jaw |
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| Manganese |
a chemical element (Mn) important to marine aquarists primarily
as a trace component of seawater |
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| Manicina |
rose coral, a large-polyped scleractinian adapted for lying on the
bottom sand, mud, or gravel; found in Florida and the Caribbean |
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| Mantle |
the fleshy structure enclosing the body of a mollusk; it secretes
the shell |
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| Manubrium |
a tubelike extension of the digestive cavitey of cnidarian medusae
thet hangs from the center of the umbrella and is often lobed or frilled |
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| Marginal tentacles |
thin projections from the outer edge of the mantle in certain mollusks,
such as scallops |
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| Mariculture |
captive propagation of marine organisms, usually on a commerical
basis, by sexual or asexual methods |
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| Marine life |
collective term for all species of organisms exhibited in aquariums
devoted to oceanic habitats |
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| Marsh |
an area characterized by the seasonal presence of shallow standing
water but in which peat does not form |
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| Marsilea |
water clover, freshwater ferns maintained in ponds and aquariums
and having four lobed leaves resembling terrestrial clover |
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| MASNA |
Marine Aquarium Societies of North America, a confederation of hobbyist
clubs focused on saltwater aquariums; it sanctions MACNA, the annual
Marine Aquarium Conference of North America |
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| Mastacembelus |
spiny eels, Family Mastacembelidae, elongate, flattened fresh and
brackish-water predatory fish from Southeast Asia, India, and China
that make good aquarium inhabitants |
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| Maxillary |
the upper jawbone in the skull of a fish, often bearing teeth |
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| Mebuna |
common name, derived from the local word, for many of the cichlid
fish of the rift lakes of East Africa, especially Lake Malawi |
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| Mechanical filtration |
any method of water purification primarily intended to remove particulate
matter by passing water over a medium such as floss, foam, or diatomaceous
earth |
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| Medusa |
a stage in the life cycle of certain cnidarians, and the dominant
one in sea jellies, with the body characteristically shaped like a
bell; they are able to swim by rhythmic pulsations |
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| Megavertebrate |
any large species, such as a whale, elephant, or shark, as distinct
from smaller ones, such as shrews, bats, or gobies |
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| Meiacanthus |
fanged blennies, Family Blennidae, of the Indo-Pacific; several
species are imported for aquariums |
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| Melanochromis |
another of the numerous genera of cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi,
Africa |
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| Melanophores |
cellular structures containing pigment molecules, found in vertebrate
and invertebrate groups |
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| Melanotaenia |
rainbowfish, native to Australia and New Guinea, and popular as
specialized subjects for a freshwater aquarium |
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| Membrane |
any thin, resilient, sheetlike structure; biologically, the semipermeable
double layer of lipid molecules and proteins enclosing a living cell
or subcellular component |
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| Mercury vapor lamp |
a high intensity lighting device, operated by electricity, sometimes
used for aquarium lighting when bright illumination is desired |
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| Mesenteries |
tissues that suspend the internal organs of an animal within the
body cavity |
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| Mesoderm |
the middle layer of embryonic tissues, giving rise to such structures
as the heart and muscles |
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| Mesogloea |
undifferentiated, jellylike material comprising much of the body
structure of cnidarians and ctenophores |
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| Metabolism |
the process of deriving energy from food molecules by a living cell
or organism |
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| Metabolite |
any substance acted upon during the process of metabolism |
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| Metal halide lamp |
a high intensity device, operated by electricity, utilized as an
aquarium light source when very bright light is needed, as with a
miniature reef aquarium or freshwater plant tank |
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| Metamerism |
segmentation, the repetition of the body parts in animals such as
annelids and crusteceans |
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| Metamorphosis |
the process of treansformation of a larval form into an adult |
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| Methylene blue |
a chemical dye sometimes used as an aquarium medication or disinfectant;
it must be employed with caution as it is toxic to nitrifying bacteria |
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| Metynnis |
South American tetras of herbivorous habits, related to piranhas
and pacus |
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| Microalgae |
any small, though not necessarily microscopic, seaweed; in a marine
aquarium, particularly one unwanted by the aquariust |
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| Microbiota |
living organisms of a particular habitat that are too small to be
seen with the unaided human eye |
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| Microcrustacean |
any tiny to microscopic species, such as a copepod |
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| Microeinstein |
a unit of measure of light energy |
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| Micro fauna |
collectively, the tiny to microscopic animals found in a specific
habitat |
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| Microinvertebrates |
any tiny to microscopic animals of any phylum lacking a spinal column |
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| Micronutrients |
food compounds required by an organism only in very small quantities |
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| Micro plankton |
free-swimming, tiny to microscopic plants and animals consistuting
an important source of food in both freshwater and marine habitats |
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| Microscope |
a device for enlarging, by means of either optical or electronic
lenses, objects too small to be observed by the naked eye |
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| Microsorium |
Java fern, a nonflowering freshwater plant easily propagated in
aquariums |
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| Microsymbiont |
the smaller organism in a relationship in which two species are
characteristically found in each other's presence |
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| Midwater |
the area extending from a few inches below the surface to a few
inches above the bottom; certain species are adapted for life in this
region |
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| Milfoil |
vinelike plants, Myriophyllum species, of freshwater habitats having
finely divided foliage, often kept in aquariums; an introduced pest
in some waters of the United States |
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| Millepora |
commonly known as fire coral, hydrozoans, found in all seas, that
produce calcified skeletons superficially similar to that of scleractinians;
contact with their living tissues can produce a painful, burning sensation
accompanied by inflammation and swelling |
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| Milliequivalent |
one thousandth of one chemical equivalent, or the amount of acid
or alkalai required to axactly neutralize a 0.001 normal solution |
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| Milt |
the exudate of amale fish that contains his sperm cells |
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| Mimicry |
an adaption in which one organism evolves to resemble another, thereby
gaining some survival benefit |
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| Minireef |
an aquarium in which a variety of marine invertebrate species, particularly
corals, is exhibited in a naturalistic setting |
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| Mitochondrion |
in eukaryotic organisms, the subcellular structure in which energy
obtained from food molecules is chemically stored in a form available
for distribution throughout the cell |
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| Moenkhausia |
South AMerican characins with silvery, sometimes translucent bodies
and often a prominent dark spot on the caudal peduncle |
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| Mollienesia |
a now-invalid, but still often-cited name for certain live-bearing
fish of the Family Poecillidae found in brackish waters in North and
Central America |
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| Mollusk |
any member of Phylum Mollusca, invertebrates such as clams, snails,
chitons, and octopus, that share specific anatomical and developmental
characters |
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| Molly |
any of the species of Poecillia, formally Mollinesia, from North
and Cental American brackish habitats, the most popular of which is
a solid black color form |
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| Molybdenum |
a chemical element (Md) required in trace amounts by certain nitrifying
bacteria |
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| Monacanthus |
filefish, marine species of Family Monacanthidae, often with rough
scales from which the common name is derived; several species are
suitable for the marine aquarium, depending upon their feeding requirements |
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| Monodactylus |
monos, large, silverey fish of Family Monodactylidae; primarily
herbivorous: they are maintained in breckish water aquariums |
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| Monoecious |
said of angiosperms bearing both male and female flowers on the
same plant |
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| Monospecific |
genus genus containing only a single species |
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| Monotypic |
a taxonomic group containing only one subordinate member, such as
a monospecific genus |
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| Montipora |
a small-polyped, branching stony coral easily propagated in the
aquarium by means of cuttings |
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| Mopsella |
colorful gorgonian soft corals, often found in deep water, which
are regularly imported and adapt well to the marine aquarium if provided
with sufficent food |
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| Mormyrid |
elephant nose fish, Family Mormyridae; restriced to Africa, they
are largely peaceful and nocturnal species capable of generating and
detecting weak electrical charges by which they probably locate food
and/ or communicate |
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| Moryrus |
type genus of the elephant nose fish family |
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| Morphology |
the study of anatomical structure and its development in living
organisms |
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| Morph |
a particular type, usually denoted by a characteristic color pattern,
within a species |
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| Mouth |
the anterior opening of the digestive tract, into which food is
ingested |
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| Mouthbrooder |
any fish, but particularly certain cichlids, in which the fertilized
eggs are incubated within the oral cavity of a parent |
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| Mucosa |
a layer of tissue that secrets mucus, usually lining a body caviety
in contact with the external environment |
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| Mucus |
a viscous secretion produced by specialized epidermal cells that
serves to lubricate and protect tissue surfaces in contact with the
external environment |
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| Mulm |
undecomposed fish wastes and other solid matter that accumulates
in the aquarium as a fine, brownish, fluffy material requiring periodic
removal by siphoning |
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| Multinucleate |
condition of a cell having more than one organelle bearing the genetic
material |
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| Muraena |
moray eels, Family Muraenidae, nocturnal marine fish with an elongate
body and strong detition; they prey on other predators of other mollusks;
sometimes kept in marine aquariums because of teir attractively ornamented
shells |
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| Mutualism |
a symbiotic relationship in which two species typically live together,
each benefitting the other |
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| Mylossoma |
large vegetarian characins, related to piranhas, subfamily Serrasalminae,
found from the southern Amazon to Argentina; easily maintained in
aquariums of suitable proportions |
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| Myomere |
one of the blocks of muscle tissue along each side of the body of
a fish |
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| Myriophyllum |
minfoil, aquatic plants with feathery leaves that are often kept
in garden ponds and aquariums |
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| Mysis shrimp |
also called "opossum shrimp," any crustacean of the Class
Mysidacea; often harvested from the sea and frozen as a food for aquarium
fish |
