Meiofauna are a diverse and numerous component of the fauna in freshwater ecosystems, but have been mostly ignored by freshwater scientists. Freshwater Meiofauna aims to raise the awareness of this enigmatic, microscopic component of the freshwater biota, by providing the first-ever, comprehensive review of their biology and ecology. The first section of the book gives indepth accounts of the systematics, morphological characteristics, life histories and ecological requirements of the main freshwater meiofaunal taxa (i.e. microturbellarians, rotifers, gastrotriches, nematodes, water mites, microcrustaceans and tardigrades). The second section then takes an integrated approach to review the current state-of-play in meiofaunal ecological research in freshwaters, addressing important issues, such as the importance of meiofaunal taxa in the trophic dynamics of freshwater ecosystems and the process underpinning the distribution patterns observed in meiofaunal assemblages. This book should appeal to a wide range of freshwater scientists, including novices in the study of freshwater meiobenthology and established researchers in freshwater ecology, for whom the meiofauna represent an unopened "black box". Our ultimate goal is that this book will serve to promote the idea that the zoology of freshwater habitats concerns more than just fish, macroinvertebrates and microbes.

Since research on meiobenthos was last compiled in a textbook (2008/2009), the number of theoretical and applied studies has been growing rapidly. Supported by new methods and digital evaluation, meiobenthology has developed into a wide field, with more and more researchers studying cross-disciplinary aspects. New perspectives were summarized in a booklet (2019) to draw attention to promising research directions. The present book, written by leading experts, is a compilation of new thinking, data, methods and approaches in many relevant fields of recent meiobenthos research. The topics addressed range from bacteria and biofilms to globally changing processes, from polar regions to the deep-sea and from freshwater ecosystems to the ocean. So, this book is not simply another meiobenthos textbook - it is an attempt to identify new horizons in meiobenthos research, driven by the vision of advancing knowledge and understanding of benthic ecosystems.

In this Special Issue, we address the state of the art of the systematics of the main annelid groups and the improvements in the diversity they hold, with special emphasis on the latest discoveries in well-studied areas, expeditions to unsurveyed areas or environments, or the use of novel techniques that allow for the improvement of biodiversity knowledge. We are hoping that this Special Issue will provide a platform facilitating a review of current knowledge on the subject, identifying current research problems, as well as indicating directions and research trends for the future.

Annelids (the segmented worms) exist in a remarkably diverse range of mostly marine but also freshwater and terrestrial habitats, varying greatly in size and form. Annelida provides a fully updated and expanded taxonomic reference work which broadens the scope of the classic Polychaetes (OUP, 2001) to encompass wider groups including Clitellata (comprising more than a third of total annelid diversity), Sipuncula, and Thalassematidae (formerly Echiura). It reflects the enormous amount of research on these organisms that has burgeoned since the millennium, principally due to their use as model organisms to address wider and more general evolutionary and ecological questions. Beginning with a clear introduction to the phylum and an outline of annelid taxonomy, this authoritative text describes their collection, the methods to ensure their optimal preservation, and an overview of anatomy with its relevant terminology. The core of the work comprises 77 fully up-to-date taxonomic chapters, informed by anatomy and the latest molecular phylogenomic evidence and carefully organised based on a new, robust phylogenetic hypothesis. Lavishly illustrated throughout with hundreds of previously unpublished high-resolution colour images and SEM micrographs, the sheer beauty and diversity of the annelids is nowhere better presented. Annelida is the definitive reference work for annelid biologists, whilst being of interest to a broader audience of invertebrate zoologists, systematists, and organismal biologists.

Sedimentary habitats cover the vast majority of the ocean floor and constitute the largest ecosystem on Earth. These systems supply fundamental services to human beings, such as food production and nutrient recycling. It is well known that meiofauna are an abundant and ubiquitous component of sediments, even though their biodiversity and importance in marine ecosystem functioning remain to be fully investigated. In this book, the meiofaunal biodiversity trends in marine habitats worldwide are documented, along with the collection of empirical evidence on their role in ecosystem services, such as the production, consumption, and decomposition of organic matter, and energy transfer to higher and lower trophic levels. Meiofaunal activities, like feeding and bioturbation, induce changes in several physico-chemical and biological properties of sediments, and might increase the resilience of the benthic ecosystem processes that are essential for the supply of ecosystem goods and services required by humans. As a key component of marine habitats, the taxonomical and functional aspects of the meiofaunal community are also used for the ecological assessment of the sediments’ quality status, providing important information on the anthropogenic impact of benthos.

This exhaustive reference provides rapid identification of all but the rarest of the marine animals found on the sea shores and shallow sublittoral zones of North-West Europe. Searching is made possible by the provision of simple dichotomous keys and many drawings and illustrations.