Meiofauna is an important, yet often overlooked, component of biodiversity in the ecosystem formed by <i>Posidonia oceanica</i>

Garcia-Gomez, Guillermo, Garcia-Herrero, Alvaro, Sanchez, Nuria, Pardos, Fernando, Izquierdo-Munoz, Andres, Fontaneto, Diego and Martinez, Alejandro (2022) Meiofauna is an important, yet often overlooked, component of biodiversity in the ecosystem formed by <i>Posidonia oceanica</i>. INVERTEBRATE BIOLOGY, 141 (2).

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ivb.12377

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The ecosystem formed by the marine flowering plant <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"><jats:italic>Posidonia oceanica</jats:italic></jats:styled-content> is a biodiversity reservoir and provides many ecosystem services in coastal Mediterranean regions. Marine meiofauna is also a major component of that biodiversity, and its study can be useful in addressing both theoretical and applied questions in ecology, evolution, and conservation. We review the meiofaunal diversity in the meadow ecosystem of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"><jats:italic>P. oceanica</jats:italic></jats:styled-content> by combining a literature review and a case study. First, we gathered records of 672 species from 71 published studies, as well as unpublished sources, highlighting 4 species exclusive to this ecosystem. Eighteen of those studies quantified the spatial and temporal changes in species composition, highlighting habitat‐specific assemblages that fluctuate following the annual changes experienced by these meadows. Hydrodynamics, habitat complexity, and food availability, all three inherently linked to the seagrass phenology, are recognized in the literature as the main factors shaping the complex distribution patterns of meiofauna in the meadows. These drivers have been identified mainly in studies of Copepoda and Nematoda, and their effect may depend ultimately on species‐specific preferences. Second, we tested the generality of these observations using marine mites as a model group, showing that similar ecological preferences might be found in other less abundant meiofaunal groups. Overall, our study highlights the high diversity of meiofauna in meadows of <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"><jats:italic>P. oceanica</jats:italic></jats:styled-content> compared with algae and sessile macrofauna associated with this seagrass and shows the complexity of the interactions and habitat use by meiofauna associated with the seagrass.</jats:p>

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Acari, Copepoda, habitat sorting, microscopic animals, Nematoda
Divisions:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	09 Sep 2022 14:40
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 08:49
DOI:	10.1111/ivb.12377
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1111/ivb.12377
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3156768