Small Things Beneath Sediments - Meiofauna

Overview

The small interstitial animals and protists or known as 'meiofauna' are living in aquatic sediments such as sands and mud. They are too visible to our naked eye and its dimensions ranged in 0.1 to 1 mm, intermediate between microfauna and macrofauna.Though small organisms, its high abundance and diversity, widespread distribution, rapid generation times and fast metabolic rates are considered important contributors to ecosystem processes and functions, including nutrient cycling and provision of food to higher trophic levels, among others (Woodward 2010; Schratzberger and Ingels 2017). However, studies show that meiofauna gained less attention compared to more larger and more easily studied macro- and megafauna. For more information, click the video below. 

Sample Collection

Any instrument or method suitable for sampling macrofauna will, in principle, also be suitable for the smaller organisms. The main difference between sampling for macrofauna and meiofauna is that, because of the much higher numerical density of the latter, smaller samples are usually adequate. These samples can be obtained by subsampling from a larger volume samples, but because this can introduce errors or inaccuracies, there are advantages in collecting a sample that can be examined entire. To learn more, watch the video below. 

Summary

This poster summarizes meiofauna organisms and its importance in marine ecosystem. It also provides examples of meiofauna, its thriving ecosystem and measurement.

Quiz

1. Where do you usually found meiofauna organisms?

a. freshwater

b. mud

c. none of the above

2. What is the example of meiofauna?

a. kinorhynch

b. marine Mite

c. all of the above

Did you answer correctly the two question? If yes, pat yourself. Very job well done! Congratulations!