Meiofauna, esos pequeños desconocidos de los ambientes marinos Meiofauna, those Little know organisms of marine environments
Article Sidebar
Publicado
mar 20, 2025
##plugins.pubIds.doi.readerDisplayName##
https://doi.org/10.30878/ces.v32n0a42
Main Article Content
Diana C. Martínez-Fabian
http://orcid.org/0009-0008-0707-2134
Norma A. Santibañez-Aguascalientes
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1342-5185
Pedro-Luis Ardisson
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3544-1178
http://orcid.org/0009-0008-0707-2134
Norma A. Santibañez-Aguascalientes
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1342-5185
Pedro-Luis Ardisson
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3544-1178
Resumen
La meiofauna en los ecosistemas marinos es poco conocida, aunque el interés por su estudio se ha incrementado en los últimos años. La meiofauna, parte de la comunidad bentónica, representa un conjunto de organismos que participa en los procesos biogeoquímicos y redes tróficas de los ambientes sedimentarios. Se explica la relevancia ecológica de este grupo de organismos, así como el interés por utilizar el conocimiento generado sobre él con fines de diagnóstico ambiental. La información recopilada proviene de portales bibliográficos poniendo énfasis en su composición, abundancia, distribución geográfica y uso como indicadores ecológicos de estrés, particularmente en México. El diseño de herramientas de diagnóstico ambiental ayuda a la toma de decisiones sobre el estado ecológico de los fondos marinos.
Article Details
Como citar
MARTÍNEZ-FABIAN, Diana C.; SANTIBAÑEZ-AGUASCALIENTES, Norma A.; ARDISSON, Pedro-Luis.
Meiofauna, esos pequeños desconocidos de los ambientes marinos.
CIENCIA ergo-sum, [S.l.], v. 32, mar. 2025.
ISSN 2395-8782.
Disponible en: <https://cienciaergosum.uaemex.mx/article/view/24375>. Fecha de acceso: 27 abr. 2025
doi: https://doi.org/10.30878/ces.v32n0a42.
Sección
Ciencias biológicas del mar y limnología
Esta obra está bajo licencia internacional Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObrasDerivadas 4.0.
Citas
Álvarez-Castillo, L., Hermoso-Salazar, M., Estradas-Romero, A., Prol-Ledesma, R. M., & Pardos, F. (2015). First records of Kinorhyncha from the Gulf of California: Horizontal and vertical distribution of four genera in shallow basins with CO2 venting activity. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 56, 3: 271-281. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/35427
Álvarez-Castillo, L., Hermoso-Salazar, M., Estradas-Romero, A., Rivas, G., & Prol-Ledesma, R. M. (2018). Composition and spatial distribution of the meiofauna in the Wagner and Consag basins, Gulf of California, Mexico. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 59, 245-256. https://doi.org/10.21411/CBM.A.ACD5ED1C
Álvarez-Castillo, L., Hermoso‐Salazar, M., Rivas, G., Estradas‐Romero, A., & Prol‐Ledesma, R. M. (2023). Effect of high temperature on the meiofauna composition, abundance, and biomass in a zone of geophysical anomalies. Marine Ecology, 44, 4: e12751. https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12751
Ardisson, P.-L. (2005). Diversidad bentónica del ambiente intermareal e infralitoral somero de Progreso, Yucatán. Unidad Mérida. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados. Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Bases de datos SNIB-CONABIO, proyecto Y008. México, D.F.
Armenteros, M., Quintanar-Retama, O., & Gracia, A. (2022). Depth-related patterns and regional diversity of free-living nematodes in the deep-sea Southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 1023996. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1023996
Avó, A. P., Daniell, T. J., Neilson, R., Oliveira, S., Branco, J., & Adão, H. (2017). DNA Barcoding and morphological identification of benthic nematodes assemblages of estuarine intertidal sediments: Advances in molecular tools for biodiversity assessment. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4, 250251. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00066
Aylagas, E., Borja, Á., Muxika, I., & Rodríguez-Ezpeleta, N. (2018). Adapting metabarcoding-based benthic biomonitoring into routine marine ecological status assessment networks. Ecological Indicators, 95 Part 1, 194-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.07.044
Balsamo, M., Artois, T., Smith, J. P., Todaro, M. A., Guidi, L., Leander, B. S. & Van Steenkiste, N. W. (2020). The curious and neglected soft-bodied meiofauna: Rouphozoa (Gastrotricha and Platyhelminthes). Hydrobiologia, 847, 12: 2613-2644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04287-x
Bertocci, I., Dell'Anno, A., Musco, L., Gambi, C., Saggiomo, V., Cannavacciuolo, Lo Martire, M., A. Passarelli, A., G. Zazo, G., & Danovaro, R. (2019). Multiple human pressures in coastal habitats: variation of meiofaunal assemblages associated with sewage discharge in a post-industrial area. Science of the Total Environment, 655, 1218-1231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.121
Birk, S., Bonne, W., Borja, A., Brucet, S., Courrat, A., Poikane, Solimini, A., van de Bund, W., Zampoukas, N., Hering, D. (2012). Three hundred ways to assess Europe’s surface waters: An almost complete overview of biological methods to implement the Water Framework Directive. Ecological Indicators, 18, 31– 41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoli nd.2011.10.009
Bonaglia, S., Nascimento, F. J. A., Bartoli, M., Klawonn, I., & Bruchet, V. (2014). Meiofauna increases bacterial denitrification in marine sediments. Nature Communications, 5, 5133. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6133
Buesseler, K. O., Lamborg, C. H., Boyd, P. W., Lam, P. J., Trull, T. W., Bidigare, R. R., James K. B. Bishop, J. K. B., Casciotti, K. L., Frank Dehairs, F., Elskens, M., et al. (2007). Revisiting carbon flux through the ocean’s twilight zone. Science, 316, 567–570. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1137959
Cardoso Neves, R., Kristensen, R. M., Rocha-Olivares, A., & Rivas, G. (2022). A first look at the biodiversity of Loricifera in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 944795. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.944795
Carpentier, A., Como, S., Dupuy, C., Lefrançois, C., & Feunteun, E. (2014). Feeding ecology of Liza spp. in a tidal flat: Evidence of the importance of primary production (biofilm) and associated meiofauna. Journal of Sea Research, 92, 86-91.
Castillo-Fernandez, D., & Lambshead, P. J. D. (1990). Revision of the genus Elzalia Gerlach, 1957 (Nematoda: Xyalidae) including three new species from an oil producing zone in the Gulf of Mexico, with a discussion of the sibling species problem. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology, 56, 63-71. https://biostor.org/reference/107024
Cerca, J., Purschke, G., & Struck, T. (2018). Marine connectivity dynamics: clarifying cosmopolitan distributions of marine interstitial invertebrates and the meiofauna paradox. Marine Biology, 165, 123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3383-2
Cinvestav, 2020. Campaña Oceanográfica 2020. PEMEX Exploración y Producción RMNE/Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional-Unidad Mérida (Reporte técnico).
Cisterna-Céliz, J. A., Marcelino-Barros, M., Herguera, J. C., & Rocha-Olivares, A. (2018). Metacommunity analysis of meiobenthos of deep-sea sediments from the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Biodiversity, 49, 1217-1231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-018-0899-0
Coull, B. C. (1973). Estuarine meiofauna: a review: trophic relationships and microbial interactions. In: Stevenson, H., Colwell, R.R. (Eds.), Estuarine Microbial Ecology. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, pp. 499–512.
Dal Zotto, M., Santulli, A., Simonini, R., & Todaro, M. A. (2016). Organic enrichment effects on a marine meiofauna community, with focus on Kinorhyncha. Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology, 265, 127-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2016.03.013
Danovaro, R. (2010). Methods for the Study of Deep-Sea Sediments, Their Functioning and Biodiversity. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Dauvin, J.-C., Bellan, G., & Bellan-Santini, D. (2010). Benthic indicators: from subjectivity to objectivity — Where is the line? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60, 947-953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.03.028
De Jesús-Navarrete A. (1993). Distribución, abundancia y diversidad de los nematodos (Phylum Nematoda) bénticos de la Sonda de Campeche, México. Enero 1987. Revista de Biología Tropical, 41, 1: 57-63.
De Jesús-Navarrete A., Prado, B., & Pozo, C. (2016). Fortalecimiento de las colecciones de ECOSUR. Primera fase. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Bases de datos SNIB-CONABIO (colección de nematodos acuáticos de Chetumal), proyectos ME006, FM023 y H096. Ciudad de México
De Jesús-Navarrete, A., Yanez-Montalvo, A., Falcón, L. I., & Vargas-Espósitos, A. (2021). Nematode fauna associated with freshwater microbialites in Bacalar Lake, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Limnology, 22, 347–355. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-021-00662-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-021-00662-2
de Jesús-Navarrete, A., Armenteros, M., Vargas Espositos, A., Rocha-Olivares, A. (2022). Size spectra, biomass, and trophic groups of free-living marine nematodes along a water-depth gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. African Journal of Ecology, 43, 5: e12723. https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12723
Diaz, R. J., & Rosenberg, R. (2008). Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science, 321, 926-929. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.11564
Escobar, E., López, M., Soto, L. A., & Signoret, M. (1997). Density and biomass of the meiofauna of the upper continental slope in two regions of the Gulf of Mexico. Ciencias Marinas, 23, 4: 463-489. https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.v23i4.823
Escobar-Briones, E. G. (2006). Base de datos de fauna batial, abisopelágica y abisal del Golfo de México. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Bases de datos SNIB-CONABIO, proyecto BE013. México, D. F.
Findlay, S. E. G. (1981). Small-scale spatial distribution of meiofauna on a mud- and sandflat. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 12, 471–484. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0302-3524(81)80006-0
Frontalini, F., Greco, M., Semprucci, F., Cermakova, K., Merzi, T., & Pawlowski, J. (2025). Developing and testing a new Ecological Quality Status index based on
marine nematode metabarcoding: A proof of concept. Chemosphere, 370, 143992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143992
García-Vázquez, L., & Gómez S. Meiofauna, un mundo diminuto y frágil. (2024). Elementos, 135, 129-133.
Giere, O. (2009). Meiobenthology. The microscopic motile fauna of aquatic sediments, 2nd ed.Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Giere, O., & Schratzberger, M. (Eds.). (2023). New Horizons in Meiobenthos Research: Profiles, Patterns and Potentials. Berlin: Springer Nature.
Gómez, S., & Morales-Serna, F. N. (2012). Meiofauna de mar profundo del golfo de California: algunos aspectos acerca de la distribución y abundancia de Copepoda. En: P. Zamorano, M. E. Hendrickx y M. Caso (Eds.). Biodiversidad y comunidades del talud continental del Pacífico mexicano. Instituto Nacional de Ecología, Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Instituto Nacional de Ecología and Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, México DF, 123-144.
Guzmán, O. (2015). Estructura comunitaria del meiobentos abisal asociada al volcán de asfalto "chapopote", ubicado al sureste del Golfo de México. Tesis licenciatura. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.
Higgins, R. P., & Thiel, H. (1988). Introduction to the Study of Meiofauna. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Howell, R. (1983). Heavy metals in marine nematodes: uptake, tissue distribution and loss of copper and zinc. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 14, 263–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-326X(83)90170-4
Ingels, J., Valdes, Y., Pontes, L. P., Silva, A. C., Neres, P. F., Corrêa, G.V.V.Ian Silver-Gorges I., Fuentes, M. M. P. B., Gillis A., Hooper, L. et al. (2020). Meiofauna life on loggerhead sea turtles-diversely structured abundance and biodiversity hotspots that challenge the meiofauna paradox. Diversity, 12, 5: 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/d12050203
Jakubowska-Krepska, N., Gołdyn, B., Krzemińska-Wowk, P., & Kaczmarek, L. Tardigrades as potential bioindicators in biological wastewater treatment plants. (2018). European Journal of Ecology, 4, 2: 124-130. https://doi.org/10.2478/eje-2018-0019
Johannes, K. N., Kennedy, B. R. C., & Bell, K. L. C. (2023). Seafloor Observation Scenario Exploration Tool: enabling representative exploration of the global deep seafloor. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1251562. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1251562
Liñero Arana, I., Ojeda, S., & Amaro, M. E. (2013). Variación espacio-temporal de la meiofauna submareal en una playa arenosa nororiental de Venezuela. Revista de Biología Tropical, 61, 1: 59-73.
Machain-Castillo, M. L., Ruiz-Fernández, A. C., Gracia, A., Sanchez-Cabeza, J. A., Rodríguez-Ramírez, A., Alexander-Valdés, H. M., Pérez-Bernal, L. H., Nava- Fernández, X. A., Gómez-Lizárraga, L. E., Almaraz-Ruiz, L., Schwing, P. T., & Hollander, D. J. (2019). Natural and anthropogenic oil impacts on benthic foraminifera in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Marine Environtal Research, 149, 111–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ma renvres.2019.06.006
Machain-Castillo, M. L., Ruiz-Fernández, A. C., Alonso-Rodríguez, R., Sánchez-Cabeza, J. A., Gío-Argáez, F. R., Rodríguez-Ramírez, A., Villegas-Hernández, R., Mora-García, A. I., Fuentes-Sánchez, A. P., Cardoso-Mohedano, J. G., Hernández-Becerril, D. U., Esqueda-Lara, K., Santiago-Pérez, S., Gómez-Ponce, M. A., & Pérez-Bernal, L. H. (2020). Anthropogenic and natural impacts in the marine area of influence of the Grijalva- Usumacinta River (Southern Gulf of Mexico) during the last 45 years. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 156, 111245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111245
Martínez, A., Kohler, S., García-Cobo, M., Neunschwander Kurtz, M., Fontaneto, D., & Macher, J.-N. (2025). Meiofauna as sentinels of beach ecosystems: A quantitative review of gaps and opportunities in beach meiofauna research. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 313, 109092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.109092
Martinez Arbizu, P., Smith, C. R., Keller, S., & Ebbe, B. (Editors). (2024). Biogeographic Database of the Census of Abyssal Marine Life. [date accessed]. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available online at http://www.cedamar.org/ https://doi.org/10.15468/oc9tsb accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-10-01.
Moens, T., Braeckman, U., Derycke, S., Fonseca, G., Gallucci, F., Gingold, R., Guilini, K., Ingels, J., Leduc, D., Vanaverbeke, J., Van Colen, C., Vanreusel, A., & Vincx, M. (2014). Ecology of free-living marine nematodes. In: Schmidt-Rhaesa, A. (Ed.), Nematoda, 2nd edition De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 109–152.
Montagna, P. A., Jarvis, S. C., & Kennicutt, II, M.C. (2002). Distinguir entre los efectos de los contaminantes y los arrecifes en la meiofauna cerca de las plataformas de hidrocarburos costa afuera en el Golfo de México. Revista Canadiense de Pesca y Ciencias Acuáticas, 59, 10: 1584-1592.
Moreno, M., Vezzulli, L., Marin, V., Laconi, P., Albertelli, G., & Fabiano, M. (2008). The use of meiofauna diversity as an indicator of pollution in harbours. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65, 8: 1428-1435. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsn116
Mundo-Ocampo, M., & Rosas-Acevedo, J. L. (2020). Diversidad de Nematodos Marinos en Barra Vieja, Guerrero, México. Foro de Estudios sobre Guerrero, 7, 1: 752-756.
OBIS Secretariat. (2018). The Deepwater Program: Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope Habitat and Benthic Ecology - DgoMB: Macros. Deep-sea OBIS node. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/egzxry accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-07-01.
Pascal, P.-Y., Dupuy, C., Richard, P., Rzeznik-Orignac, J., & Niquil, N. (2008). Bacterivory of a mudflat nematode community under different environmental conditions. Marine Biology, 154, 671–682.
Peralta-Maraver, I., Traunspurger, W., Robertson, A. L., Giere, O., Majdi, N. (2023). Freswater Meiofauna-A Biota with different Rules? In: Olav Giere and Michaela Schratzberger (Eds.). New horizons in meiobenthos research: profiles, patterns and potentials. Springer. 410 pp.
Riera, R., Tuya, F., Sacramento, A., Ramos, E., Rodríguez, M., & Monterroso, O. (2011). A community level assessment to evaluate the effects of brine disposal over subtidal meiofauna. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 93, 359–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2011.05.001
Rosado-Solórzano, R., & del Próo, S. A. G. (1998). Preliminary trophic structure model for Tampamachoco lagoon, Veracruz, Mexico. Ecological Modelling, 109, 2: 141-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3800(98)00011-8
Rosli, N., Leduc, D., Rowden, A. A., & Probert, P. K. (2018). Review of recent trends in ecological studies of deep-sea meiofauna, with focus on patterns and processes at small to regional spatial scales. Marine Biodiversity 48, 1334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0801-5
Santibañez-Aguascalientes, N. A., Carrasco-Torres, A., & Ardisson, P.-L., (2024). Chronic contamination in the southern Gulf of Mexico coastal zone, as evidenced by meiofauna biological traits. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 78, 103757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103757
Sapir, A. (2021). Why are nematodes so successful extremophiles? Communicative and Integrative Biology, 14, 1: 24–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2021.1884343
Sautya, S., Gaikwad, S., Ram, A., Basu, U., Rao Molla, N. & Chatterjee, T. (2025). Assessment of benthic meiofauna in multi-stressed environment of a tropical estuary: A case study using low taxonomic resolution data. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences, 41:9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-024-00755-6
Schratzberger, M., Gee, J. M., Rees, H. L., Boyd, S. E., & Wall, C. M. (2000). The structure and taxonomic composition of sublittoral meiofauna assemblages as an indicator of the status of marine environments. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kindom, 80, 06: 969–980. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400003039
Schratzberger, M., & Ingels, J. (2018). Meiofauna matters: the roles of meiofauna in benthic ecosystems. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 502, 12-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2017.01.007
Schwing, P. T., Montagna, P. A., Joye, S. B., Paris, C. B., Cordes, E. E., McClain, C. R., Kilborn, J. P., & Murawski, S. A. (2020). A Synthesis of Deep Benthic Faunal Impacts and Resilience Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 560012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.560012
Sciberras, M., Menechella, A. G., Rucci, K. A., Cazzaniga, N. J., & Marrero, H. J. (2022). Nematode/copepod ratio and nematode and copepod abundances as bioindicators of pollution: a meta-analysis. Ecología Austral, 32, 516-525. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.22.32.2.0.1840
Seibold, E., & Berger, W. (Eds.). (2017). The Sea Floor: an introduction to Marine Geology. Fourth edition. Springer. ISSN 2510-1307. 272 pp.
Semprucci, F., Grassi, E., & Balsamo, M. (2022). Simple Is the Best: An Alternative Method for the Analysis of Free-Living Nematode Assemblage Structure. Water, 14, 1114. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071114
van der Wurff, A. W. G., Kools, S. A. E., Boivin, M. E. Y., Van den Brink, P. J., van Megen, H. H. M., Riksen, J. A., Doroszuk, A., & Kammenga, J. E. (2007). Type of disturbance and ecological history determine structural stability. Ecological Applications, 17, 190–202.
Vargas-Espositos, A. A., de Jesús-Navarrete, A., Pérez-Pech, W. A., Pech, D., Rocha-Olivares, A., & Martínez-Mendoza, I. (2003). Free-living nematode assemblages along a water-depth gradient in the Perdido belt, northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 63, 103006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.10300
Vargas-Espositos, A. A., de Jesús-Navarrete, A., Pérez-Pech, W. A., & Anguas-Escalante, A. (2024). Biological traits and functional diversity of free-living nematode assemblages along a water-depth gradient in the northwestern of Gulf of Mexico. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 79, 103860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103860
Veit-Köhler, G., Durst, S., Schuckenbrock, J., Hauquier, F., Suja, L. D., Dorschel, B., Vanreusel, A., & Arbizu, P.M. (2018). Oceanographic and topographic conditions structure benthic meiofauna communities in theWeddell Sea, Bransfield Strait and Drake Passage (Antarctic). Progress in Oceanography, 162: 240–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.03.005
Vranken, G., Vanderhaeghen, R., & Heip, C. (1991). Effects of pollutants on life-history parameters of the marine nematode Monhystera disjuncta. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 48, 325–334. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/48.3.325
Wang, X., Liu, X., & Xu, J. (2019). Distribution patterns of meiofauna assemblages and their relationship with environmental factors of deep sea adjacent to the Yap Trench, Western Pacific Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 735. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00735
Worsaae, K., Vinther, J., & Sorensen, M. V. (2023). Evolution of bilateria from a meiofauna perspective-miniaturization in the focus. In: Olav Giere and Michaela Schratzberger (Eds.). New horizons in meiobenthos research: profiles, patterns and potentials. Springer. 410 pp.
Zeppilli, D., Leduc, D., Fontanier, C., Fontaneto, D., Fuchs, S., Gooday, A. J., Goineau, A., Ingels, J., Ivanenko, V. N., Kristensen, R. M., et al. (2018). Characteristics of meiofauna in extreme marine ecosystems: a review. Marine Biodiversity, 48, 35-71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0815-z
Zhao, M., Liu, Q., Zhang, D., Liu, Z., Wang, C., & Liu, X. (2020). Deep-sea meiofauna assemblages with special reference to marine nematodes in the Caiwei Guyot and a Polymetallic Nodule Field in the Pacific Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 160, 111564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111564
CC BY-NC-ND
Álvarez-Castillo, L., Hermoso-Salazar, M., Estradas-Romero, A., Rivas, G., & Prol-Ledesma, R. M. (2018). Composition and spatial distribution of the meiofauna in the Wagner and Consag basins, Gulf of California, Mexico. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 59, 245-256. https://doi.org/10.21411/CBM.A.ACD5ED1C
Álvarez-Castillo, L., Hermoso‐Salazar, M., Rivas, G., Estradas‐Romero, A., & Prol‐Ledesma, R. M. (2023). Effect of high temperature on the meiofauna composition, abundance, and biomass in a zone of geophysical anomalies. Marine Ecology, 44, 4: e12751. https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12751
Ardisson, P.-L. (2005). Diversidad bentónica del ambiente intermareal e infralitoral somero de Progreso, Yucatán. Unidad Mérida. Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados. Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Bases de datos SNIB-CONABIO, proyecto Y008. México, D.F.
Armenteros, M., Quintanar-Retama, O., & Gracia, A. (2022). Depth-related patterns and regional diversity of free-living nematodes in the deep-sea Southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 1023996. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1023996
Avó, A. P., Daniell, T. J., Neilson, R., Oliveira, S., Branco, J., & Adão, H. (2017). DNA Barcoding and morphological identification of benthic nematodes assemblages of estuarine intertidal sediments: Advances in molecular tools for biodiversity assessment. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4, 250251. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00066
Aylagas, E., Borja, Á., Muxika, I., & Rodríguez-Ezpeleta, N. (2018). Adapting metabarcoding-based benthic biomonitoring into routine marine ecological status assessment networks. Ecological Indicators, 95 Part 1, 194-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.07.044
Balsamo, M., Artois, T., Smith, J. P., Todaro, M. A., Guidi, L., Leander, B. S. & Van Steenkiste, N. W. (2020). The curious and neglected soft-bodied meiofauna: Rouphozoa (Gastrotricha and Platyhelminthes). Hydrobiologia, 847, 12: 2613-2644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04287-x
Bertocci, I., Dell'Anno, A., Musco, L., Gambi, C., Saggiomo, V., Cannavacciuolo, Lo Martire, M., A. Passarelli, A., G. Zazo, G., & Danovaro, R. (2019). Multiple human pressures in coastal habitats: variation of meiofaunal assemblages associated with sewage discharge in a post-industrial area. Science of the Total Environment, 655, 1218-1231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.121
Birk, S., Bonne, W., Borja, A., Brucet, S., Courrat, A., Poikane, Solimini, A., van de Bund, W., Zampoukas, N., Hering, D. (2012). Three hundred ways to assess Europe’s surface waters: An almost complete overview of biological methods to implement the Water Framework Directive. Ecological Indicators, 18, 31– 41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoli nd.2011.10.009
Bonaglia, S., Nascimento, F. J. A., Bartoli, M., Klawonn, I., & Bruchet, V. (2014). Meiofauna increases bacterial denitrification in marine sediments. Nature Communications, 5, 5133. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms6133
Buesseler, K. O., Lamborg, C. H., Boyd, P. W., Lam, P. J., Trull, T. W., Bidigare, R. R., James K. B. Bishop, J. K. B., Casciotti, K. L., Frank Dehairs, F., Elskens, M., et al. (2007). Revisiting carbon flux through the ocean’s twilight zone. Science, 316, 567–570. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1137959
Cardoso Neves, R., Kristensen, R. M., Rocha-Olivares, A., & Rivas, G. (2022). A first look at the biodiversity of Loricifera in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 944795. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.944795
Carpentier, A., Como, S., Dupuy, C., Lefrançois, C., & Feunteun, E. (2014). Feeding ecology of Liza spp. in a tidal flat: Evidence of the importance of primary production (biofilm) and associated meiofauna. Journal of Sea Research, 92, 86-91.
Castillo-Fernandez, D., & Lambshead, P. J. D. (1990). Revision of the genus Elzalia Gerlach, 1957 (Nematoda: Xyalidae) including three new species from an oil producing zone in the Gulf of Mexico, with a discussion of the sibling species problem. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology, 56, 63-71. https://biostor.org/reference/107024
Cerca, J., Purschke, G., & Struck, T. (2018). Marine connectivity dynamics: clarifying cosmopolitan distributions of marine interstitial invertebrates and the meiofauna paradox. Marine Biology, 165, 123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3383-2
Cinvestav, 2020. Campaña Oceanográfica 2020. PEMEX Exploración y Producción RMNE/Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional-Unidad Mérida (Reporte técnico).
Cisterna-Céliz, J. A., Marcelino-Barros, M., Herguera, J. C., & Rocha-Olivares, A. (2018). Metacommunity analysis of meiobenthos of deep-sea sediments from the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Biodiversity, 49, 1217-1231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-018-0899-0
Coull, B. C. (1973). Estuarine meiofauna: a review: trophic relationships and microbial interactions. In: Stevenson, H., Colwell, R.R. (Eds.), Estuarine Microbial Ecology. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, pp. 499–512.
Dal Zotto, M., Santulli, A., Simonini, R., & Todaro, M. A. (2016). Organic enrichment effects on a marine meiofauna community, with focus on Kinorhyncha. Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology, 265, 127-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2016.03.013
Danovaro, R. (2010). Methods for the Study of Deep-Sea Sediments, Their Functioning and Biodiversity. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Dauvin, J.-C., Bellan, G., & Bellan-Santini, D. (2010). Benthic indicators: from subjectivity to objectivity — Where is the line? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60, 947-953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.03.028
De Jesús-Navarrete A. (1993). Distribución, abundancia y diversidad de los nematodos (Phylum Nematoda) bénticos de la Sonda de Campeche, México. Enero 1987. Revista de Biología Tropical, 41, 1: 57-63.
De Jesús-Navarrete A., Prado, B., & Pozo, C. (2016). Fortalecimiento de las colecciones de ECOSUR. Primera fase. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Bases de datos SNIB-CONABIO (colección de nematodos acuáticos de Chetumal), proyectos ME006, FM023 y H096. Ciudad de México
De Jesús-Navarrete, A., Yanez-Montalvo, A., Falcón, L. I., & Vargas-Espósitos, A. (2021). Nematode fauna associated with freshwater microbialites in Bacalar Lake, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Limnology, 22, 347–355. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-021-00662-2
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-021-00662-2
de Jesús-Navarrete, A., Armenteros, M., Vargas Espositos, A., Rocha-Olivares, A. (2022). Size spectra, biomass, and trophic groups of free-living marine nematodes along a water-depth gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. African Journal of Ecology, 43, 5: e12723. https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12723
Diaz, R. J., & Rosenberg, R. (2008). Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science, 321, 926-929. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.11564
Escobar, E., López, M., Soto, L. A., & Signoret, M. (1997). Density and biomass of the meiofauna of the upper continental slope in two regions of the Gulf of Mexico. Ciencias Marinas, 23, 4: 463-489. https://doi.org/10.7773/cm.v23i4.823
Escobar-Briones, E. G. (2006). Base de datos de fauna batial, abisopelágica y abisal del Golfo de México. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Bases de datos SNIB-CONABIO, proyecto BE013. México, D. F.
Findlay, S. E. G. (1981). Small-scale spatial distribution of meiofauna on a mud- and sandflat. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 12, 471–484. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0302-3524(81)80006-0
Frontalini, F., Greco, M., Semprucci, F., Cermakova, K., Merzi, T., & Pawlowski, J. (2025). Developing and testing a new Ecological Quality Status index based on
marine nematode metabarcoding: A proof of concept. Chemosphere, 370, 143992. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143992
García-Vázquez, L., & Gómez S. Meiofauna, un mundo diminuto y frágil. (2024). Elementos, 135, 129-133.
Giere, O. (2009). Meiobenthology. The microscopic motile fauna of aquatic sediments, 2nd ed.Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Giere, O., & Schratzberger, M. (Eds.). (2023). New Horizons in Meiobenthos Research: Profiles, Patterns and Potentials. Berlin: Springer Nature.
Gómez, S., & Morales-Serna, F. N. (2012). Meiofauna de mar profundo del golfo de California: algunos aspectos acerca de la distribución y abundancia de Copepoda. En: P. Zamorano, M. E. Hendrickx y M. Caso (Eds.). Biodiversidad y comunidades del talud continental del Pacífico mexicano. Instituto Nacional de Ecología, Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Instituto Nacional de Ecología and Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, México DF, 123-144.
Guzmán, O. (2015). Estructura comunitaria del meiobentos abisal asociada al volcán de asfalto "chapopote", ubicado al sureste del Golfo de México. Tesis licenciatura. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.
Higgins, R. P., & Thiel, H. (1988). Introduction to the Study of Meiofauna. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Howell, R. (1983). Heavy metals in marine nematodes: uptake, tissue distribution and loss of copper and zinc. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 14, 263–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-326X(83)90170-4
Ingels, J., Valdes, Y., Pontes, L. P., Silva, A. C., Neres, P. F., Corrêa, G.V.V.Ian Silver-Gorges I., Fuentes, M. M. P. B., Gillis A., Hooper, L. et al. (2020). Meiofauna life on loggerhead sea turtles-diversely structured abundance and biodiversity hotspots that challenge the meiofauna paradox. Diversity, 12, 5: 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/d12050203
Jakubowska-Krepska, N., Gołdyn, B., Krzemińska-Wowk, P., & Kaczmarek, L. Tardigrades as potential bioindicators in biological wastewater treatment plants. (2018). European Journal of Ecology, 4, 2: 124-130. https://doi.org/10.2478/eje-2018-0019
Johannes, K. N., Kennedy, B. R. C., & Bell, K. L. C. (2023). Seafloor Observation Scenario Exploration Tool: enabling representative exploration of the global deep seafloor. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1251562. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1251562
Liñero Arana, I., Ojeda, S., & Amaro, M. E. (2013). Variación espacio-temporal de la meiofauna submareal en una playa arenosa nororiental de Venezuela. Revista de Biología Tropical, 61, 1: 59-73.
Machain-Castillo, M. L., Ruiz-Fernández, A. C., Gracia, A., Sanchez-Cabeza, J. A., Rodríguez-Ramírez, A., Alexander-Valdés, H. M., Pérez-Bernal, L. H., Nava- Fernández, X. A., Gómez-Lizárraga, L. E., Almaraz-Ruiz, L., Schwing, P. T., & Hollander, D. J. (2019). Natural and anthropogenic oil impacts on benthic foraminifera in the southern Gulf of Mexico. Marine Environtal Research, 149, 111–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ma renvres.2019.06.006
Machain-Castillo, M. L., Ruiz-Fernández, A. C., Alonso-Rodríguez, R., Sánchez-Cabeza, J. A., Gío-Argáez, F. R., Rodríguez-Ramírez, A., Villegas-Hernández, R., Mora-García, A. I., Fuentes-Sánchez, A. P., Cardoso-Mohedano, J. G., Hernández-Becerril, D. U., Esqueda-Lara, K., Santiago-Pérez, S., Gómez-Ponce, M. A., & Pérez-Bernal, L. H. (2020). Anthropogenic and natural impacts in the marine area of influence of the Grijalva- Usumacinta River (Southern Gulf of Mexico) during the last 45 years. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 156, 111245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111245
Martínez, A., Kohler, S., García-Cobo, M., Neunschwander Kurtz, M., Fontaneto, D., & Macher, J.-N. (2025). Meiofauna as sentinels of beach ecosystems: A quantitative review of gaps and opportunities in beach meiofauna research. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 313, 109092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.109092
Martinez Arbizu, P., Smith, C. R., Keller, S., & Ebbe, B. (Editors). (2024). Biogeographic Database of the Census of Abyssal Marine Life. [date accessed]. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available online at http://www.cedamar.org/ https://doi.org/10.15468/oc9tsb accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-10-01.
Moens, T., Braeckman, U., Derycke, S., Fonseca, G., Gallucci, F., Gingold, R., Guilini, K., Ingels, J., Leduc, D., Vanaverbeke, J., Van Colen, C., Vanreusel, A., & Vincx, M. (2014). Ecology of free-living marine nematodes. In: Schmidt-Rhaesa, A. (Ed.), Nematoda, 2nd edition De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 109–152.
Montagna, P. A., Jarvis, S. C., & Kennicutt, II, M.C. (2002). Distinguir entre los efectos de los contaminantes y los arrecifes en la meiofauna cerca de las plataformas de hidrocarburos costa afuera en el Golfo de México. Revista Canadiense de Pesca y Ciencias Acuáticas, 59, 10: 1584-1592.
Moreno, M., Vezzulli, L., Marin, V., Laconi, P., Albertelli, G., & Fabiano, M. (2008). The use of meiofauna diversity as an indicator of pollution in harbours. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65, 8: 1428-1435. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsn116
Mundo-Ocampo, M., & Rosas-Acevedo, J. L. (2020). Diversidad de Nematodos Marinos en Barra Vieja, Guerrero, México. Foro de Estudios sobre Guerrero, 7, 1: 752-756.
OBIS Secretariat. (2018). The Deepwater Program: Northern Gulf of Mexico Continental Slope Habitat and Benthic Ecology - DgoMB: Macros. Deep-sea OBIS node. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/egzxry accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-07-01.
Pascal, P.-Y., Dupuy, C., Richard, P., Rzeznik-Orignac, J., & Niquil, N. (2008). Bacterivory of a mudflat nematode community under different environmental conditions. Marine Biology, 154, 671–682.
Peralta-Maraver, I., Traunspurger, W., Robertson, A. L., Giere, O., Majdi, N. (2023). Freswater Meiofauna-A Biota with different Rules? In: Olav Giere and Michaela Schratzberger (Eds.). New horizons in meiobenthos research: profiles, patterns and potentials. Springer. 410 pp.
Riera, R., Tuya, F., Sacramento, A., Ramos, E., Rodríguez, M., & Monterroso, O. (2011). A community level assessment to evaluate the effects of brine disposal over subtidal meiofauna. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 93, 359–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2011.05.001
Rosado-Solórzano, R., & del Próo, S. A. G. (1998). Preliminary trophic structure model for Tampamachoco lagoon, Veracruz, Mexico. Ecological Modelling, 109, 2: 141-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3800(98)00011-8
Rosli, N., Leduc, D., Rowden, A. A., & Probert, P. K. (2018). Review of recent trends in ecological studies of deep-sea meiofauna, with focus on patterns and processes at small to regional spatial scales. Marine Biodiversity 48, 1334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0801-5
Santibañez-Aguascalientes, N. A., Carrasco-Torres, A., & Ardisson, P.-L., (2024). Chronic contamination in the southern Gulf of Mexico coastal zone, as evidenced by meiofauna biological traits. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 78, 103757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103757
Sapir, A. (2021). Why are nematodes so successful extremophiles? Communicative and Integrative Biology, 14, 1: 24–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2021.1884343
Sautya, S., Gaikwad, S., Ram, A., Basu, U., Rao Molla, N. & Chatterjee, T. (2025). Assessment of benthic meiofauna in multi-stressed environment of a tropical estuary: A case study using low taxonomic resolution data. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences, 41:9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-024-00755-6
Schratzberger, M., Gee, J. M., Rees, H. L., Boyd, S. E., & Wall, C. M. (2000). The structure and taxonomic composition of sublittoral meiofauna assemblages as an indicator of the status of marine environments. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kindom, 80, 06: 969–980. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400003039
Schratzberger, M., & Ingels, J. (2018). Meiofauna matters: the roles of meiofauna in benthic ecosystems. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 502, 12-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2017.01.007
Schwing, P. T., Montagna, P. A., Joye, S. B., Paris, C. B., Cordes, E. E., McClain, C. R., Kilborn, J. P., & Murawski, S. A. (2020). A Synthesis of Deep Benthic Faunal Impacts and Resilience Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 560012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.560012
Sciberras, M., Menechella, A. G., Rucci, K. A., Cazzaniga, N. J., & Marrero, H. J. (2022). Nematode/copepod ratio and nematode and copepod abundances as bioindicators of pollution: a meta-analysis. Ecología Austral, 32, 516-525. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.22.32.2.0.1840
Seibold, E., & Berger, W. (Eds.). (2017). The Sea Floor: an introduction to Marine Geology. Fourth edition. Springer. ISSN 2510-1307. 272 pp.
Semprucci, F., Grassi, E., & Balsamo, M. (2022). Simple Is the Best: An Alternative Method for the Analysis of Free-Living Nematode Assemblage Structure. Water, 14, 1114. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071114
van der Wurff, A. W. G., Kools, S. A. E., Boivin, M. E. Y., Van den Brink, P. J., van Megen, H. H. M., Riksen, J. A., Doroszuk, A., & Kammenga, J. E. (2007). Type of disturbance and ecological history determine structural stability. Ecological Applications, 17, 190–202.
Vargas-Espositos, A. A., de Jesús-Navarrete, A., Pérez-Pech, W. A., Pech, D., Rocha-Olivares, A., & Martínez-Mendoza, I. (2003). Free-living nematode assemblages along a water-depth gradient in the Perdido belt, northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 63, 103006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.10300
Vargas-Espositos, A. A., de Jesús-Navarrete, A., Pérez-Pech, W. A., & Anguas-Escalante, A. (2024). Biological traits and functional diversity of free-living nematode assemblages along a water-depth gradient in the northwestern of Gulf of Mexico. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 79, 103860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103860
Veit-Köhler, G., Durst, S., Schuckenbrock, J., Hauquier, F., Suja, L. D., Dorschel, B., Vanreusel, A., & Arbizu, P.M. (2018). Oceanographic and topographic conditions structure benthic meiofauna communities in theWeddell Sea, Bransfield Strait and Drake Passage (Antarctic). Progress in Oceanography, 162: 240–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2018.03.005
Vranken, G., Vanderhaeghen, R., & Heip, C. (1991). Effects of pollutants on life-history parameters of the marine nematode Monhystera disjuncta. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 48, 325–334. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/48.3.325
Wang, X., Liu, X., & Xu, J. (2019). Distribution patterns of meiofauna assemblages and their relationship with environmental factors of deep sea adjacent to the Yap Trench, Western Pacific Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 735. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00735
Worsaae, K., Vinther, J., & Sorensen, M. V. (2023). Evolution of bilateria from a meiofauna perspective-miniaturization in the focus. In: Olav Giere and Michaela Schratzberger (Eds.). New horizons in meiobenthos research: profiles, patterns and potentials. Springer. 410 pp.
Zeppilli, D., Leduc, D., Fontanier, C., Fontaneto, D., Fuchs, S., Gooday, A. J., Goineau, A., Ingels, J., Ivanenko, V. N., Kristensen, R. M., et al. (2018). Characteristics of meiofauna in extreme marine ecosystems: a review. Marine Biodiversity, 48, 35-71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0815-z
Zhao, M., Liu, Q., Zhang, D., Liu, Z., Wang, C., & Liu, X. (2020). Deep-sea meiofauna assemblages with special reference to marine nematodes in the Caiwei Guyot and a Polymetallic Nodule Field in the Pacific Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 160, 111564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111564
CC BY-NC-ND