Glossary of biogeographic terms
GLOSSARY
of
PELAGIC BIOGEOGRAPHY
†R.K. Johnson, B.J. Zahuranec*, D. Boltovskoy** and
A.C. Pierrot-Bults***
† formerly Grice Marine Laboratory University of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29412 USA
Sadly Bob Johnson died before this Glossary was finished
* U. S. Office of Naval Research, Arlington, VA 22217, USA
** Univerdidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
*** Zoological Museum Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam,The Netherlands
This glossary of terms applicable to Pelagic Biogeography has been prepared as part of the work of SCOR Working Group 93, "Pelagic Biogeography." The decision to prepare such a glossary was made at the first meeting of the Working Group at Amsterdam, 6 - 8 November, 1990. The need to more clearly communicate and utilize common concepts and terminology was in fact evident at the First International Conference on Pelagic Biogeography, where it was not clear that workers were using such essential terms as “biogeography” to convey the same meaning. This Glossary is one attempt by Working Group 93 to address that problem.
The terms are given in alphabetical order in English with a Spanish translation of the term only when the term and/or the spelling is different. An alphabetical list of Spanish terms is given at the end of this document. The descriptions are given only in English. This list can thus also serve as a dictionary for Spanish speaking people to find the right term in English.
In preparation of this Glossary we have cast our net broadly and include terms applicable in aquatic biogeography sensu lato, including freshwater and
coastal ecosystems.
Please note the following abbreviations, used widely:
cf confer: compare with definitions of terms that follow;
eg exempli gratia for example;
qv quod vide: definition for indicated (preceding) term will extend and clarify
the present definition;
syn synonym
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
We have not attempted to list names, much less diagnoses, for the taxonomic groups that are the principal players in pelagic biogeography nor the proper names of pelagic biogeographic regions or provinces as used by various authors. To have done so would have greatly increased the size of the Glossary, we believe to the detriment of its usefulness.
Every term we list can be found in use in the literature and defined elsewhere. We have invented nothing, save our own interpretation. The usefulness, if any, of this work is our deliberate effort to bring together terms from what are in fact connected but commonly disparate disciplinary areas - biological oceanography, phylogeny, ecology, physiology, ichthyology, evolutionary biology, physical oceanography, chemical oceanography, biogeography, meteorology, and others. We thank our colleagues for their help in improving this work. The choices and omissions, deliberate or not, as well as the errors, are our own.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I
choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”
Lewis Carroll (1832–98), English author, mathematician. Through the Looking-Glass, ch. 6 (1872).
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
A
abiotic factors
factores abióticos
(1) Physical or chemical parameters "forcing" (cf forcing functions) distribution patterns.
(2) Nonliving forces or situations controlling or influencing the dynamics of living systems.
abundance
abundancia
Ecology: A measure of population density, the number, mass or weight of organisms present in a defined area or volume ( cf standing crop / standing stock; P/B ratio).
Abyssal
abisal
(1) Pertaining to the zone of modal ocean basin depth, below 2000 m, lying seaward to and deeper than the bathyal (qv) zone.
(2) Encompassing the ocean floor at depths between 2 and 6 km.
abyssal circulation
circulación abisal
Applies to large-scale oceanic water movement, density-driven, at depths between 2 and 6 km.
abyssobenthic
abisobéntico
A subdivision of the oceanic benthic environment at depths between 2 and 6 km.
abyssopelagic
abisopelágico
A subdivision of the oceanic pelagic environment occupying the strata between 2 and 6 km.
accepted name
nombre aceptado
Taxonomy: A name adopted by an author as the correct name for a taxon.
accidental species
especie accidental
Rare species in a community ( cf Braun-Blanquet classification ), either chance invaders from another community or relicts from a previous community (cf exclusive, indifferent,
preferential, or selective species).
Acclimation
aclimatación
Response of an animal that enables it to tolerate a change in a single factor in its environment
(eg temperature). (cf acclimitization).
acclimatization
aclimatación transitoria
A reversible adaptive response that enables an organism to tolerate environmental change (eg seasonal climatic change).
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
actic
Of or pertaining to littoral rocky shores as habitat.
action spectrum
espectro de acción
Graphic depiction of the efficiency of different wave lengths of light in promoting a given photoresponse (eg in photosynthesis or phototropism).
active pool
existencia activa
A component of a biogeochemical (qv) cycle in which the nutrient or active substance
exchanges rapidly between the biotic and abiotic components - usually smaller or much smaller than the reservoir pool (qv).
adaptation
adaptación
(1) The condition of showing fitness (qv) for a particular environment, as applied to the
characteristics of a structure, function, or entire organism.
(2) The process by which fitness is acquired.
adaptive peaks and valleys
valles y picos adaptativos
Symbolic contour map showing relative Darwinian fitness or adaptive value of genotypic characters or characteristics, represented by adaptive peaks (high fitness) and valleys (low fitness).
adaptive radiation
radiación adaptativa
(1) Evolutionary divergence of members of a single phyletic line into a series of rather different niches or adaptive zones.
(2) A burst of evolution with rapid divergence from a single ancestral form resulting in exploitation of an array of habitats (cf tachytelic, punctuated equilibria).
adaptive zone
zona adaptativa
Comprises the "living space" of a taxon in the associated environmental regime or regimes, habitat or niche. The adaptive specialization that fits the taxon to the given environmental circumstances may be broad or narrow (eg stenophagy vs omnivory).
adjacently sympatric
simpátrico adyacente
Of or pertaining to those aspects of a parapatric (qv) speciation event whereby the daughter
species are minimally isolated geographically.
admissable
Taxonomy: The form of a name which can be validly published and the use of a name in accordance with provisions of the applicable international code, such as the ICZN (qv) for
animals.
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
adnate
adnato
Closely applied to; growing on; attached along entire length.
advection
advección
(1) Mass motion in the atmosphere or ocean. In the ocean, the transport of water due to wind forcing or density driven circulation.
(2) The transport of organisms or materials by large-scale water movement. (cf upwelling, convection).
affinity index
índice de afinidad
Measure of the relative similarity of the composition of two samples. Reciprocal affinity is a measure of distance.
age class
clase de edad
A category comprising individuals of a given age within a population; a cohort.
age-specific death rate
tasa de mortalidad específica
The death rate for a given age class in a population calculated as the number dying in age class
x divided by the number that attain age class x; designated by l. x
age-specific fecundity rate
tasa de fecundidad específica
The average number of female young per female produced per unit time by an individual of specified age; designated by m. x
agamospecies
especie agámica
Species which replicate asexually.
aggregated
agregado
A contagious distribution (qv) in which values, observations or individuals are more clustered or grouped together than in a random (qv) distribution, indicating that the presence of one organism or value increases the probability of another occurring nearby. Also known as overdispersion (qv).
aggregates
agregados
(1) Oceanography: Inorganic or organic clumping of particles, with or without associated living organisms (cf marine snow).
(2) Ecology: A group of individual items (soil particles, organisms, etc.) occurring together in
a
cluster, in which the average inter-individual distance within the cluster is significantly less than the average inter-individual distance outside of the cluster.
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
aggregation
agregación
(1) The process of forming an aggregate or cluster.
(2) A synonym for cluster.
(3) A group of organisms that is formed when individuals are attracted or limited to a patchily
distributed environmental resource (cf patchiness).
agium
Of or pertaining to a beach community.
agonistic behavior
comportamiento antagónico
Describes behavioral interaction between two rival organisms of the same species that may involve aggression, threat, appeasement, or avoidance, often involving stereotyped or ritual behavior.
air-sea interface
interfase aire-agua
The zone of contact between atmosphere and marine hydrosphere.
aktological
Of or pertaining to shallow inshore environments and communities.
albedo
albedo
Reflectivity (eg of the earth, atmosphere, sea surface, land surface) measured as a percentage of incident solar radiation.
algorithm
algoritmo
A finite series of logical steps or instructions by which a particular numerical or algebraic problem can be solved.
alleles
alelos
The set of alternative gene forms at a given chromosomal locus.
allelopathy
alelopatía
Release by an organism of a chemical substance into the environment that acts as an inhibitor to the germination or growth of another organism. Most common among plants and
protists.
allochoric
alocórico
Occurring in two or more communities within a given geographical region.
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
allochronic speciation
especiación alocrónica
(1) Neontology: Speciation without geographical separation through the acquisition of different
breeding seasons or patterns.
(2) Paleontology: Speciation occurring by the sequential replacement of species through time.
allochronic species
especie alocrónica
Paleontology: Species which do not occur at the same time level (cf synchronic species).
allochthonous
alóctono
Not indigenous or native; acquired. May apply to species, food or nutrient input, or to sediment transported to be deposited within the system of reference.
allometry
alometría
Differential rate of growth such that size of one part (or more) of the body changes in proportion to another part of the body or the whole, but at a constant exponential rate.
allopatric speciation
especiación alopátrica
Species formation during geographical isolation (cf sympatric speciation, centrifugal
speciation),
as a result of fragmentation of the original breeding population and subsequent genetic divergence of daughter populations (cf parapatric, dichopatric).
allopatry
alopatria
(1) The condition of species or populations occupying mutually exclusive (but often adjacent) geographic areas (cf sympatry).
(2) Applied to species that occupy separate habitats and do not co-occur as breeding adults in nature.
allotopic
alotópico
Used of populations or species that occupy different macrohabitats (cf syntopic).
allotype
alotipo
Taxonomy: A paratype of different sex than the holotype and designated by the original author; has no formal ICZN status.
allozyme
alozima
Genetics: alternative forms of alleles at the same locus.
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
allozyme frequency
frecuencia alozímica
Allozyme frequency is the total number of times a given allozyme is detected among individuals in a sample, divided by sample size. By "one gene, one enzyme", allozyme frequency (where detectable and not modified by nongenetic factors) provides a direct index of allelic frequency at a given locus.
alpha taxonomy
taxonomía descriptiva
Descriptive taxonomy (qv), concerned primarily with the recognition and description of species, usually on the basis of morphological characters.
altricial
Used of offspring or species that show a marked delay in the attainment of independent self maintenance. (cf precocial).
ambit
ámbito
The daily, seasonal or lifetime geographic range of an organism.
amensalism
amensalismo
Interaction of species populations in which one population is inhibited whilst the other population is unaffected by the interaction (cf commensalism, competition, mutualism,
neutralism, parasitism, predation, and protocooperation). Classic example: an elephant stepping on the nest of a ground-dwelling bird. Better example: trophic group amensalism as in bioturbation effects inhibiting settlement of benthic suspension feeders.
amictic
amíctico
Referring to a lake that has no overturn whatever because it is perennially frozen.
amphi-
anfi-
Prefix meaning both, as in amphi-American, species or higher taxa occurring in both the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic, ie both sides of the American land mass.
amphitropical
anfitropical
See antitropical.
anadromous
anádromo
Animals that spawn in freshwater but spend most of their lives in seawater, eg
salmon (Oncorhynchus, Salmo).
anagenesis
anagénesis
(1) Referring to evolutionary advance (cf grade).
(2) Any evolutionary change along a single, unbranching lineage (cf cladogenesis).
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
analogous
análogo
Describes a feature or character state in two taxa which can be functionally similar or virtually identical (at least superficially) but which cannot be traced back to the same feature or character state in any common ancestor. Analogous features commonly derive from convergence or homoplasy (cf homologous). The feature or character state itself is termed an analogy.
ancestral character state
estado de carácter ancestral
Phylogeny: the known or presumed primitive state (qv) characteristic of the sister outgroup
(qv) to the group of interest, (cf plesiomorphous).
anomaly
anomalía
(1) Statistics: Abnormal feature or characteristic, departing from mean or expected value. (2) Oceanography: Departure from mean state. Various kinds of anomalies are widely used in oceanographic or geophysical measurements, eg magnetic anomalies are measurable additions
to or subtractions from the expected local magnetic field due to "fossil magnetic effects" related to polarization reversals of the earth's field. These effects helped demonstrate seafloor spreading.
anoxic
anóxico
The absence of free diatomic oxygen, O. As used in the pelagic literature, also 2
applies to large hypoxic (qv) water masses in which free oxygen may be at or below
the threshold of field detectability but in which hydrogen sulfide is not detectably present (eg Eastern Pacific, Arabian Sea).
antarctic
antártico
Zone of the Antarctic (Southern) Ocean and the continent of Antarctica, including the subantarctic and south Subtropical Convergence (qv); extending from the 0S, the approximate limit of northward ice drift. continental margin northward to about 40
anticyclone
anticiclón
Referring to an area of above average pressure (high pressure cell) in the ocean or atmosphere, characterized by generalized downwelling within the central region of the cell. The circulation pattern is such that when visualized from above, motion of a particle on the right side is southward in the Northern Hemisphere (clockwise) and northward in the Southern Hemisphere (cf cyclonic, gyre).
antitrade wind
viento antialisio
Upper altitude wind in low latitudes that flows counter (poleward) to the lower altitude trade wind (qv).
antitropical species
especie antitropical
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Glossary of biogeographic terms
Species occurring in the north and/or south subtropical and/or temperate zones but absent in the intervening tropical (equatorial zone). Biantitropical (or amphitropical) is used to describe this condition for the same species in both hemispheres.
aphotic zone
zona afótica
The depths of the ocean in which there is no sunlight, in which the only light present is produced by bioluminescent organisms.
apomorphous
apomorfo
Phylogeny: Evolutionarily advanced (derived) character state. Applied to features shared by a group of organisms that distinguish these organisms from others. The term means "new featured" (cf derivative).
archibenthic
arquibéntico
Pertaining to the benthic environment and benthos of the continental slope between 65 and
1050m; the upper part of the abyssal zone.
archipelago
archipiélago
A group of islands.
Arctic Ocean
Océano Artico
Smallest and shallowest (mean depth = 1,205 m) of the world's five main ocean basins. Area = 2. The shallowness is related to the extreme width of the surrounding 14,090,000 km
continental shelves, up to 1,700 km wide. Covered by floating pack ice, up to 3 to 4 m thick, over much of its surface.
area cladogram
cladograma de área
A cladogram (qv) in which area names are substituted for species names (cf OTU). Steps in
construction: (1) erect cladogram, (2) determine distribution of component OTU's, (3) substitute the names of areas occupied by those OTU's into the cladogram, (4) find the most parsimonious set of events accounting for the correspondence (and differences) between the phylogenetic and geographic cladograms.
arenicolous
arenícola
Living in sand; psammic.
Artenkreis
círculo de especies
A group of closely related species distributed as a partially overlapping mosaic within a geographic area.
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