Glossary of Ecology - M

M

• macroecology - the study of large scale ecological phenomena
• mangrove wetland - mangroves are most often defined as trees or shubs found in sub tropic climates. where plants "assemblage or mangal" and provide habitat for many marine organisms
• marine ecology - and aquatic ecology, where the dominant environmental milieu is water
• marine snow - tiny particles, including dead organic matter from the upper layers of the ocean, sinking deep into the ocean
• mark and recapture - used to estimate populations and find survival rates, movement and growth.
• mesopredator release hypothesis - hypothesis that states as top predators dwindle in an ecosystem an increase in the populations of mesopredators occur
• metabolic theory of ecology - theory that explains the relationship between an organism's body mass and metabolic rate
• microbial ecology - the ecology of micro-organisms
• micro-climate - an area influenced by either natural or manmade features that change the climatic conditions from the normal regional climate
• microecology - the study of small scale ecological phenomena
• migration - the movement of organisms from one place to another
• mimicry - imitative behavior. animal species resembling one another.
• molecular assembler
• molecular ecology - a field of evolutionary biology concerned with applying molecular population genetics, molecular phylogenetics, and genomics to traditional ecological questions. Essentially the same as ecological genetics
• molecular engineering - any means of creating molecules through the use of technology
• monsoon - air circulation patterns that influence the continents north or south of warm oceans
• mutualism - A biological interaction between individuals of two different species, where each individual derives a fitness benefit. It includes relationships which are mutualistic, parasitic or commensal.