Description | Primary research interests concern the faunistic, sistematics, biogeography and ecology of lower Metazoa and Crustacea. Studies are focussed on a group of animals, collectively known as the meiofauna. Meiofauna consist of invertebrate animals small enough to live within the interstices of aquatic sediments (1.0-0.063 mm in total body size), and almost every major phylum has interstitial representatives, with some phyla being exclusively meiofaunal. We are interested in reconstructing evolutionary relationships within and among such groups as Gastrotricha, Loricifera, Priapulida, kynorincha and marine Harpacticoida using advanced microscopy and molecular approaches. We are also interested in verifying the physical, chemical and biological factors influencing the distribution and abundance of meiofaunal organisms, and in assessing the impact that stress of natural as well as anthropogenic origin have on marine meiobenthic communities. |
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ERC Sectors |
LS8_2
Population biology, population dynamics, population genetics
LS8_2
Population biology, population dynamics, population genetics
LS8_3
Systems evolution, biological adaptation, phylogenetics, systematics, comparative biology
LS8_4
Biodiversity, conservation biology, conservation genetics, invasion biology
LS8_5
Evolutionary biology: evolutionary ecology and genetics, co-evolution
LS8_6
Biogeography, macro-ecology
LS8_8
Environmental and marine biology
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