Is the meiofauna a good indicator for climate change and anthropogenic impacts?

Our planet is changing, and one of the most pressing challenges facing the scientific community revolves around understanding how ecological communities respond to global changes. From coastal to deep-sea ecosystems, ecologists are exploring new areas of research to find model organisms that help predict the future of life on our planet. Among the different categories of organisms, meiofauna offer several advantages for the study of marine benthic ecosystems. This paper reviews the advances in the study of meiofauna with regard to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Four taxonomic groups are valuable for predicting global changes: foraminifers (especially calcareous forms), nematodes, copepods and ostracods. Environmental variables are fundamental in the interpretation of meiofaunal patterns and multistressor experiments are more informative than single stressor ones, revealing complex ecological and biological interactions. Global change has a general negative effect on meiofauna, with important consequences on benthic food webs. However, some meiofaunal species can be favoured by the extreme conditions induced by global change, as they can exhibit remarkable physiological adaptations. This review highlights the need to incorporate studies on taxonomy, genetics and function of meiofaunal taxa into global change impact research

Life Cycle and Morphology of a Cambrian Stem-Lineage Loriciferan

Cycloneuralians form a rich and diverse element within Cambrian assemblages of exceptionally preserved fossils. Most resemble priapulid worms whereas other Cycloneuralia (Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Kinorhyncha, Loricifera), well known at the present day, have little or no fossil record. First reports of Sirilorica Peel, 2010 from the lower Cambrian Sirius Passet fauna of North Greenland described a tubular lorica covering the abdomen and part of a well developed introvert with a circlet of 6 grasping denticles near the lorica. The introvert is now known to terminate in a narrow mouth tube, while a conical anal field is also developed. Broad muscular bands between the plates in the lorica indicate that it was capable of movement by rhythmic expansion and contraction of the lorica. Sirilorica is regarded as a macrobenthic member of the stem-lineage of the miniaturised, interstitial, present day Loricifera. Like loriciferans, Sirilorica is now known to have grown by moulting. Evidence of the life cycle of Sirilorica is described, including a large post-larval stage and probably an initial larva similar to that of the middle Cambrian fossil Orstenoloricus shergoldii

Tardigrade Taxa

The list of tardigrade taxa up to a sub-generic level, with the type species of each genus and the numbers of lower taxa in each taxon (known in the end of June 2018) is here presented together with the main environments in which taxa were found. Each listed taxon is characterized by characters common to all lower taxa using predominantly most recent taxa definitions. Taxa definitions were eventually adjusted using original descriptions. This review of tardigrade taxa underlines as taxonomy and systematics of the phylum are continuously updated by researchers and new species are constantly discovered. Currently, there are 1265 species (2 of them fossil) of Tardigrada belonging to 129 genera and 28 families including one fossil