Meiofauna in Selected Biotopes

Abstract

The variety of meiofauna biotopes is amazing: Meiofauna has been found in void systems of Antarctic sea ice (see Chap. 7.2.1), in the gas passages of Spartina culms (see Chap. 8.4) and in the interstices of gill chambers in amphibious crabs (Riemann 1970). This biotopical diversity, and the variability in meiofauna distribution and composition renders it problematical to describe singular biomes with their “typical” meiofauna. In a compilatory work, this difficulty is enhanced by the multitude of studies with differing scientific perspectives and methods. Nevertheless, the following chapters try to characterize the meiobenthos in a selection of relevant biotopes emphasizing the constraints by and the adaptations to the pertinent ecological conditions. Necessarily, this overview cannot represent an exhaustive or a complete survey.