Fundamental questions in meiofauna—how small but ubiquitous animals can help to better understand Nature
Type | Article | ||||||||
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Acceptance Date | 2023-09-28 IN PRESS | ||||||||
Language | English | ||||||||
Author(s) | Martínez García Alejandro1, Bonaglia Stefano2, Di Domenico Maikon3, Fonseca Gustavo, Ingels Jeroen5, Jörger Katharina6, Laumer Christopher7, Leasi Francesca8, Zeppilli Daniela9, Baldrighi Elisa10, Bik Holly11, Cepeda Diego12, Curini-Galletti Marco13, 14, Cutter Asher15, Dos Santos Giovanni16, Fattorini Simone17, Frisch Dagmar18, Gollner Sabine19, Jondelius Ulf20, Kerbl Alexandra21, Kocot Kevin22, Majdi Nabil23, Mammola Stefano1, 14, 24, Martín-Durán José María25, Menegotto André26, 27, 28, Montagna Paul29, Nascimento Francisco30, Puilandre Nicolas31, Rognant Anne32, Sánchez Nuria33, Santos Isaac34, Schmidt-Rhaesa Andreas35, Schratzberger Michaela36, Semprucci Federica37, Shimabukuro Mauricio38, Somerfield Paul39, Struck Torsten40, Sørensen Martin41, Wallberg Andreas42, Worsaae Katrine43, Yamasaki Hiroshi44, Fontaneto Diego1, 14 | ||||||||
Affiliation(s) | 1 : Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), National Research Council, Verbania Pallanza, Italy. 2 : Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden 3 : Center for Marine Studies (CEM), Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil. 4 : Marine Science Institute, Federal University of São Paulo, Santos, Brazil 5 : FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory, Florida State University, St Teresa, FL, USA. 6 : SNSB-Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Munich, Germany 7 : The Natural History Museum, Department of Life Sciences, London, United Kingdom 8 : Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA 9 : UMR6197 Biologie et Écologie des Ecosystèmes Marins Profonds, University Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, 29280 Plouzané, France 10 : Department of Biology, The University of Nevada, Reno, USA 11 : Department of Marine Science & Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens GA, USA 12 : Department of Biology, Research Center of Biodiversity and Global Change, Autonomous University of Madrid (CIBC-UAM), C/ Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain 13 : Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy; 14 : National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy 15 : Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. University of Toronto. Toronto, ON M5S3B2 Canada 16 : Zoology Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, 50670-901 Recife-PE, Brazil 17 : Department of Life, Health & Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio – Coppito, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy 18 : Department of Evolutionary and Integrative Ecology, IGB Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin (Germany) 19 : Department of Ocean Systems (OCS), Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Landsdiep 4, 1797 SZ 't Horntje, Texel, The Netherlands 20 : Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Zoology, POB 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden 21 : Department for Evolutionary Neurobiology, Centre for Organismal Studies, University Heidelberg. Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany 22 : Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA 23 : Réserve Naturelle Nationale de la Forêt de la Massane, Sorbonne Université, UPMC Université Paris 06, Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls, 66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France 24 : Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. 25 : School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences. Queen Mary University of London. Mile End Road. E1 4NS London. United Kingdom 26 : Department of Ecology, Research Center of Biodiversity and Global Change, Autonomous University of Madrid (CIBC-UAM), C/ Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain 27 : Terrestrial Ecology Group (TEG-UAM), Department of Ecology, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain 28 : Department of Ecology, ICB, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, 74690-900, Brazil 29 : Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA 30 : Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden 31 : Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, CP51, Paris, France 32 : Océanopolis. Port de Plaisance du Moulin blanc. B.P. 91039. Brest Cedex 1. 29210. France 33 : Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución José Antonio Novais, 12. Planta 10. 28040 Madrid, Spain. Universidad Complutense de Madrid 34 : Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden 35 : Leibniz Institute for the analysis of biodiversity change (LIB), Hamburg, Germany 36 : Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, United Kingdom 37 : Dipartimento di Scienze Biomolecolari., Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, Marche, Italy 38 : Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG) - Instituto de Oceanografia, Brazil 39 : Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom 40 : Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172, Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway 41 : Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 42 : Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University; Husargatan 3, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden 43 : Marine Biological Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 4, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark 44 : Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan |
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Source | EcoEvoRxiv (California Digital Library (CDL)) In Press | ||||||||
DOI | 10.32942/X2WP43 | ||||||||
Note | This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. | ||||||||
Keyword(s) | meiobenthos, horizon scanning, biodiversity, phylogenetics, Tree of Life, ecology, evolution, adaptation, metagenomics, interstitial fauna, Science Communication, expert opinion | ||||||||
Abstract | Meiofauna—a collective term to define microscopic animals—represent a numerically important component of biodiversity in most of Earth’s ecosystems and play a crucial role in biogeochemical cycles. Meiofauna have also been used as models to understand fundamental adaptive processes, have contributed to a better understanding of the animal’s Tree of Life, and are believed to be a treasure trove for future genomic studies. To celebrate the diversity of research topics brought to us by the term “meiofauna”, we gathered a multidisciplinary team of 42 ecologists, taxonomists, morphologists, biogeographers, molecular biologists, and scientific disseminators to list 194 fundamental questions in meiofaunal research. Then, through an online survey, 251 scientists, administrators, students, and stakeholders assisted us in reducing this list to 50 top-priority questions. Applied topics related to anthropogenic impact and climate change received the highest scores, whereas questions related to areas in development such as genomics or adaptations, received less attention. Whereas we might not be exploiting meiofauna’s full potential yet, more and more integrative approaches and technological developments will create opportunities to employ these fascinating organisms to answer broad and important questions, despite of their impediments related to their small body size. Meiofauna research agenda should balance amongst investigating general questions, addressing more specialized research topics, and generating primary data on distribution, taxonomy, traits, and DNA sequences. The geographical and taxonomic biases that have historically affected meiofaunal research can be alleviated by promoting international cooperation, open data sharing, and an increase effort in education, taxonomic training, as well as scientific communication. We hope that this will get both researchers and the general public intrigued by those small critters that constantly lurk unseen in front of us. |
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