Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
Larval—young fish between time of hatching and attainment of juvenile characteristics
Lee—the side (as of a ship) that is sheltered from the wind
Leptocephalic—small, elongate, transparent, planktonic larva of eel
Littoral—the zone or division of the ocean bottom that lies between the high and low tide lines; intertidal
Live bottom community—a concentration of benthic invertebrates and demersal fishes that is
associated with a region of vertical relief and structural complexity that can be organic (e.g., coral
skeletons) and inorganic (e.g., rocks) in origin; such oasis-like communities are often surrounded by
expanses of bottom with little relief or structure
Longitudinal fission—asexual division of new polyps within the same coral head
Longline—a type of fishing gear using a buoyed line onto which are attached numerous branch lines
each terminating in a baited hook; longlines may extend for tens of kilometers and are usually left to drift
in surface waters or near the seafloor
Lost year—the early juvenile stage (first years of life) of most sea turtle species that is spent far offshore;
few turtles are observed during this time
Low occurrence—an area where the likelihood of encountering a species is rare or not known
Magma—fluid rock material from which igneous rock is derived through solidification. It can intrude into
crevices and fissures as it upwells through the crust
Malacological—branch of zoology that deals with mollusks
Mangrove—a variety of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs that inhabit the intertidal zones of tropical and
subtropical regions; tropical equivalent of salt marshes
Mantle—the zone between the core and the crust of the Earth. It comprises the bulk of the Earth
Map projection—a mathematical formulation that transforms feature locations on the Earth’s curved
surface (three-dimensional) to a map’s flat surface (two dimensions)
Marine managed area—any area of the marine environment set aside by federal, state, local, or tribal
governments to protect geological, cultural, or recreational resources and which currently may not be
protected as marine protected areas; marine managed areas encompass a broader spectrum of
management purposes than marine protected areas
Marine protected area—any area of the marine environment reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal,
or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources
within the area
Masking⎯obscuring of sounds of interest by interfering sounds, generally at similar frequencies
Mean—(arithmetic) average
Median⎯(arithmetic) the middle number in a set of data when it is calculated from lowest to highest; it is
an indicator of central location in a dataset
Medusa—free-swimming, sexually mature form of coelenterates; umbrella- or bell-shaped; swims by
pulsations of its body; tentacles and sense organs are located at edge of bell
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