FourtIMCo ended! See the official photo!

FourtIMCo ended!

It was a very nice time in Belgium! We hope that everybody enjoyed as much as we did. See below our photo (me and Pri) and also the official one.

Now we should wait for the FiftIMCo in South Korea!

FourtIMCo has began! Win a T-shirt from Meiofauna Brasil!

The most important event of meiofauna this year, the FourtIMCo, started officially yesterday and we from MeiofaunaBrasil are here in Ghent.

We hope that everybody is enjoying the event as we are!

For the traditional raffle we offered a T-shirt from MeiofaunaBrasil. We hope that will make somebody very happy!

More information about the event here.

Deadline for "Workshop on ‘Meiofauna from chemosynthetic deep-sea environments’ "

Just a quik reminder that the deadline for registration in the Workshop on ‘Meiofauna from chemosynthetic deep-sea environments’ is next 30 June 2010.

The workshop has been organized by the Census of Marine Life project ChEss (Biogeography of Deep-Water Chemosynthetic Ecosystems) in conjunction with the 14th International Meiofauna Conference at Ghent University for July, 17 2010. This workshop is organized by Monika Bright and Ann Vanreusel and we would like to invite you to attend for free.

The aim of this workshop is to bring together meiofauna researchers who are interested in any biological aspect concerning deep- sea reducing environments, such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, whale falls, sunken wood, and areas of low oxygen that intersect with continental margins and seamounts.

We will have sessions in which we will discuss the current state of knowledge of biogeography, biodiversity and abundance, ecology, origin and evolution, morphological and molecular phylogeny, and taxonomy, and future plans. Further we will discuss the possiblities of multidisciplinary and integrative research, building a platform of researchers to combine our efforts in databases, field programmes, and outreach activities.

Registration: email to Monika Bright - monika.bright@univie.ac.at

Deadline of registration June 30, 2010

Any questions and suggestions: email to Monika Bright - monika.bright@univie.ac.at

Only 30 days to FourtIMCo!

Only 30 days separate us from the most important event of meiofauna: the FourtIMCo.

Have you read the FourtIMCo programme?

Have you arranged your hotel reservation?

We, from Meiofauna Brasil, want to see you in Gent!

More information about the event here.

10 days to submit your abstract in FourtIMCo

Just a quick reminder that you have only 10 days left to submit your abstract and complete the registration in FourtIMCo.

We, from Meiofauna Brasil, already completed ours and want to see you there!

More information here.

Workshop on meiofauna from chemosynthetic deep-sea environments

The Census of Marine Life project ChEss (Biogeography of Deep-Water Chemosynthetic Ecosystems) is organizing a workshop on ‘Meiofauna from chemosynthetic deep-sea environments’ in conjunction with the 14th International Meiofauna Conference at Ghent University July, 17 2010. This workshop is organized by Monika Bright and Ann Vanreusel and we would like to invite you to attend for free.

The aim of this workshop is to bring together meiofauna researchers who are interested in any biological aspect concerning deep- sea reducing environments, such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, whale falls, sunken wood, and areas of low oxygen that intersect with continental margins and seamounts.

We will have sessions in which we will discuss the current state of knowledge of biogeography, biodiversity and abundance, ecology, origin and evolution, morphological and molecular phylogeny, and taxonomy, and future plans. Further we will discuss the possiblities of multidisciplinary and integrative research, building a platform of researchers to combine our efforts in databases, field programmes, and outreach activities.

Registration: email to Monika Bright - monika.bright@univie.ac.at

Deadline of registration June 30, 2010

Any questions and suggestions: email to Monika Bright - monika.bright@univie.ac.at

FourtIMCo: Pre-registration deadline!

The deadline for pre-registration to participate in the 14th International Meiofauna Conference – FourtIMCo – is next 30 September. You can see all information about the conference on the website here.

The conference will be hosted by Ghent University, Belgium, from July 12th – 16th 2010.

Tribute to Prof. Fonseca-Genevois during VIII BIOINC

The "VIII Encontro de Bioincrustação, Ecologia Bêntica e Corrosão" (VIII Meeting of Bioincrustation, Benthic Ecology and Corrosion) happened last week, in 27-31 July 2009 and, as we noticied here previously, honored Prof. Dra. Verônica Fonsêca Genevois this year with a Tribute.

Fot those who do not know Dra. Fonsêca-Genevois, she is the precursor of meiobenthic studies in Brazil. During her carreer she already supervisioned 7 PhD, 27 master and 12 graduation works.

We from Meiofauna Brasil were present in this important moment for Brazilian meiobenthologists making some videos and photos. Currently the videos are being edited and subtitled. Soon we will update here with all videos and photos. For now, enjoy one of the after-tribute photos.



More information (in portuguese) about the event here.

VIII BIOINC will honor Dra. Verônica Genevois!

The "VIII Encontro de Bioincrustação, Ecologia Bêntica e Corrosão" (VIII Meeting of Bioincrustation, Benthic Ecology and Corrosion) will honor Prof. Dra. Verônica Fonsêca Genevois this year.

Fot those who do not know Dra. Fonsêca-Genevois, she is the precursor of meiobenthic studies in Brazil. During her carreer she already supervisioned 7 PhD, 27 master and 12 graduation works.

The event will happen in 27-31 July 2009 and we from Meiofauna Brasil will be present in this important moment for the Brazilian meiobenthologists.

More information (in portuguese) here.

Meiofauna Training Course in Panama!

A meiofauna training course will be hosted in early June 2010 (exact dates to be determined) at the Smithsonian Institution's Bocas del Toro Research Station in Panama. The course will have the nature of a workshop, with 6-8 invited meiofauna specialists and up to 12 students.

There will be a strong focus on taxonomic survey of non-arthropod meiofauna, though not exclusively so. For more details and student application information visit the website, here.


A special thanks to Dr. Jon Nurenburg from Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History for informing us!

FourtIMCo: first news!

Great news! We just received by e-mail the first information about the FourtIMCo.


The International Association of Meiobenthologists is pleased to invite you to participate in its 14th International Meiofauna Conference – FourtIMCo – in Ghent, Belgium, from July 12th – 16th 2010.

The conference will be hosted by Ghent University, Belgium. The city of Ghent is located at the cultural and economic heart of Europe.

The FourtIMCo aims to bring high-quality scientific presentations and discussions in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, allowing optimal interaction between scientists from different levels, disciplines, etc… The organizers will therefore endeavor to provide a forum both to established experienced scientists and to young researchers in an early stage of their career.

All information about the conference is available through the conference website here.

Meiobenthology Book: Best Price

Pre-order your new Meiobenthology Edition saving 14%: Click here!!!

News about the 2nd edition of "Meiobenthology"

The 2nd edition of the book "Meiobenthology" by Olav Giere is already available for pre-order on Springer's page, here.

The Table of Contents includes: Introduction. The Biotope, its Factor System and Study Methods. Meiofauna sampling and processing. Biological Characteristics of Meiofauna. Meiofauna Taxa – a Systematic Account. Evolutionary and Phylogenetic Ramifications in Meiobenthology. Patterns of Meiofauna Distribution. Meiofauna from Selected Biotopes and Regions. Synecological Perspectives in Meiobenthology. Retrospect on Meiobenthology and Outlook to New Approaches.

The book will be launched later this year, on 4th of December and it costs $159,00.

Meiofauna Publications

Visit the page ttp://www.biol.sc.edu/~coull_lab/meiopubs_framed.htm on Coull's Meiofauna Lab. There you'll find about 170 references from 1970 to 2005 and many pdf articles available....

Book: Meiobenthology - 2nd edition!

Hi everybody!

Good news! We got a message from Prof. Olav Giere and he told us about the Meiobenthology - 2nd edition! The new edition of Meiobenthology will come out in September or October according to Springer Verlag publishers. The book covers all aspects and includes many data from the Meiofauna Conference in Brazil.

Meiobenthology
The Microscopic Motile Fauna of Aquatic Sediments
Giere, Olav
2nd ed., 2008, Approx. 550 p. 125 illus., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-540-68657-6

About the book:

Meiobenthology is the science of the tiny animals that live in huge numbers in all aquatic sediments. This fully revised and enlarged second edition emphasizes new discoveries and developments in this field. Major progress has been made in three general areas:

Systematics, diversity and distribution
Ecology, food webs, and energy flow
Environmental aspects, including studies of anthropogenic impacts

The meiobenthos of polar and tropical regions, deep-sea bottoms and hydrothermal vents are now studied in more detail. The high number of species found to survive under such extreme conditions puts them at the forefront of biodiversity studies. Molecular screening methods enable large numbers to be analyzed upon applying reasonable effort. The aim of this book is to synthesize these modern scientific achievements such that meiobenthology can play a key role in aquatic research and in assessing the health of our environment.


From the reviews of the first edition:

"Giere's scholarly but readable monograph on the meiobenthos will be welcomed by all aquatic benthic ecologists."
Nature

"Every librarian and every practicing meiobenthologist should have a copy of this book."
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

MANUELA workshop: Sampling and Laboratory Techniques in Meiobenthology

MANUELA workshop: Sampling and Laboratory Techniques in Meiobenthology

Location: Wilhelmshaven - Germany

Event Type: Workshop

Event Date: 2007-10-15

End Date: 2007-10-20

Event Description: The RMP MANUELA is organising a training workshop on Sampling and Laboratory Techniques in Meiobenthology from 15-20 October 2007 in Wilhelmshaven (German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research, Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg).This workshop is especially aiming at technicians and young researchers.

Contact email: jan.vanaverbeke@ugent.be

Further infomation on MANUELA PROJECT

Manuela Project

Considerable scientific progress has been made in describing structural aspects of marine ecosystems and in particular the determinants of the distribution and abundance of larger-sized species and their assemblages whereas the smaller-sized fauna has been largely neglected.

The objective of Manuela is three-fold:

1. To integrate the currently fragmented information on the dynamics and functional role of meiofaunal
2. To improve understanding of how the activities of meiobenthic organisms, population dynamics and community assemblages are linked to ecosystem processes
3. To facilitate meiobenthic research within the MarBEF community and stimulate the interest in meiobenthology.
   

Further infomation on MANUELA PROJECT

Meiofauna and its History...

The study of meiofauna is a late component of benthic research. despite the fact that meiobenthic animals have been known since the early days of microscopy (meiofauna and meiobenthos are largely used in this book as synonyms). While the terms macrofauna and microfauna had been long established. it was not until 1942 that "meiofauna" was used by MAREto define an assemblage of mobile or hapto-sessile benthic invertebrates (meiobenthos) distinguished from macrobenthos by their small size. Earlier. most researchers had referred to typical meiobenthic animals as microfauna. Derived from the Greek “meio” meaning smaller. members of the meiofauna are mobile. sometimes also hapto-sessile benthic animals. smaller than macrofauna. but larger than microfauna (a term now restricted mostly to Protozoa). Today. the size boundaries of meiobenthos are based on the standardized mesh width of sieves with 500 µm (1000 µm)as upper and 42 µm (63 µm) as lower limits: all fauna passing the coarse sieve but retained by the finer sieve during sieving is considered meiofauna. Gastrotricha, Gnathostomulida, Kinorhyncha, Loricifera and Tardigrada are exclusively meiobenthic groups.

* 1900-1950:

- First researches on meiofauna: regional taxonomic/ sistematic/ morphological descriptions of single groups, e.g., the interstitial opisthobranchs Microhedylidae or the nematodespopilating North American shores

- Between 1911 and 1935, more investigators became enumerated all taxa; but it was Remane, the “father of meiofauna research” who, on the basis of complete sampligs, fisrt recognized the rich populations in intertidal beaches, sbtidal sands, and muds and algal habitats as definable ecological assemblages

- In 1935, a british scientisti, Nicholls, studying the copepods of a Scottish sandy beach, introduced the term “interstitial fauna”

- During the 1930s – 1950s the Swedish marine biologist Swedmark originated studies on the systematics and ecology of the marine interstitial fauna, particularly the Gastrotricha

* 1950 – 1960:

- Period of accelerated interest in Meiofaunal systematics and Descriptive Ecology

* 1960-1970:

- During this period meiofauna studies enjoyed rapid growth due to a variety of factors: more scientists working on meiofauna, a renewed interest in the ecology of the animals, the development of meiobenthic research, better sampling and extracting techniques and better communication amongst meiobenthologists via the “Association of Meiobenthologists” and the Association’s Newsletter Psammonalia

- The first two-page issue of Psammonalia was mimeographed and mailed in November, 1966 by R. P. Higgins and D. J. Zinn

- During this period two general types of meiofaunal studies dominated: descriptive ecology and broadened taxonomic knowledge of various meiofaunal taxa from various habitats

* 1970-1980:

- Pollution effects on meiofauna were studied in the laboratory and in the field

- In the 1970s – 1980s a phylogenetic perspective experienced a broader emphasis


* From the 1980s:

- Researches improved in the all areas. Genetic and molecular studies have been used on the taxonomic and phylogenetic researches. More and more species have been discovered and described; and the deep sea has shown an extremely interesting and unknown fauna

Welcome!!!

Meiobenthic Greetings!

It’s a pleasure to inaugurate the first blog exclusively about Meiofauna in Brazil.
The home page idea appeared when we noted the scarce information available in the internet about the meiofaunal studies in Brazil.
The purpose of this blog is to spread the works, news and events of interest to the meiobenthologists.
We take the opportunity and invite you to contribute with suggestions, texts and relevant information concerning specific groups and/or meiofauna in general.