12th International Meiofauna ConferenceInformation
GENERAL INFORMATION
REGISTRATION AND WELCOMING DINNER
On Sunday 11th at 19:00 at Restaurant Marchesini; address:
via Mazzini, 2 (near “Piazza Caduti della Libertà” see map) Ravenna.
REGISTRATION DESK AT CONFERENCE CENTRE
The registration desk is located in the Conference Centre “Centro Congressi - Ravenna” at Largo Firenze, throughout the week. Delegates should collect their conference information at the registration desk open from 8:30 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 17:00.
BADGE IDENTIFICATION
A congress badge is required for admission to all congress sessions, activities and facilities.
ORAL PRESENTATION
All oral presentations will be conducted in the Conference Centre. Invited speakers have 45 minutes for their presentations (including questions and changeover), and contributed papers 20 minutes (15 + 5 for questions and changeover). Speakers using the entire time for their presentation will leave no time for questions and Chairpersons are under strict instructions to keep delegates to time.
Before the beginning of each session, speakers should make sure that their presentations media supports (computer based, slides, and transparencies) have to be handed to the AV operator at the “Slide office” to allow technical setup. Projectors both for slides and VHS movies are available. Be aware that transparencies could need to be transferred in electronic format by technician before presentation.
For computer based presentations the Conference Centre is equipped with PC Windows based system. The presentations could be recorded on the following devices: Floppy Disk 3.5”, CD-rom, DVD, USB Data Key. PowerPoint presentations are favored. Even if personal laptops can be connected to media system of the Conference Hall, it is kindly recommended to commit to AV operator all the material for projection.
Material for both morning and afternoon sessions of the next day must be handed to the AV operator the evening before. In particular, for the first day session authors have to deliver their presentations during the welcoming dinner.
POSTER PRESENTATION
Posters will be displayed in the Conference Centre “Centro Congressi - Ravenna” at Largo Firenze. Poster should not exceed the 70 cm in width and 100 cm in length. Poster are divided in two sessions. Please display your poster in the numbered board allocated to you (see below for poster programme and the board number. Pins are provided at the registration desk). Delegates presenting posters please be next to their poster during the designated viewing session. Food and drinks will be served during the sessions. Delegates should remove their poster immediately after the end of the designated session.
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceInformation
1st poster session
Themes:
- New insights on phylogenetic relationships and distributional patterns of meiofaunal taxa based on morphological and/or molecular analysis
- Coupling habitat complexity/heterogeneity and meiofaunal assemblages
- Meiofauna trophic relationships
- Other
Delegates should put up their posters on boards provided sometime during Monday 12th July. The posters can be viewed during Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th but a special viewing session has been organized for Tuesday evening 13th July from 19:00 to 21:00.
2ndposter session
Themes:
- Response of meiofaunal taxa and/or assemblages to physical and/or chemical disturbance
- Deep-sea meiofauna
- Meiofauna in selected habitats
Delegates should put up their posters on boards provided sometime during Wednesday 14th July. The posters can be viewed during Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th but a special viewing session has been organized for Thursday evening 15th July from 19:00 to 21:00.
CONFERENCE BULLETIN / INFORMATION BOARD
Please check the bulletin board in the registration desk each day for any change in the programme, society information, announcements or messages.
INTERNET ACCESS
Two internet access points will be available at the Library of Scienze Ambientali Faculty, in Via Tombesi dall’Ova, 55, very close to the Conference Centre. Users have to exhibit conference badge to obtain permission by the librarian. Timetables: 8:30-17:30, from Monday to Tuesday; 8:30-13:00, on Friday.
CONFERENCE EXCURSION, CONFERENCE DINNER AND RAFFLE
Details of departure (time, place, etc.) for conference excursion on Friday 16th to Republic of San Marino will be posted on the conference information board at the registration desk. The conference excursion will be followed by the conference dinner at Restaurant “Ca' Zanni” - Villa Verucchio, Rimini. Dress for conference dinner is casual. Raffle will take place during the conference dinner (please do not gorget bringing goods: t-shirt, mugs, good bottles etc.. for the raffle). Awards of “Swedmark Student Travel Fund” by the IAM will be given at the conference dinner.
refreshments and evening Programme
The full registration fee covers admission to all scientific oral and poster sessions, conference programme and abstract booklet, coffee-breaks and all social events (including the “welcoming dinner” on Sunday evening 11th July, the conference excursion and the conference dinner on Friday 16th). The fee of accompanying person covers all social events. The daily fee covers the admission to scientific sessions of the day, abstract booklet and coffe-breaks.
ELECTRIC ADAPTERS AND transformers
Italy uses both the standard European grounded socket (2 round pins with central round grounding pin in-line) and non-grounded socket (2 round pins). Italy has 220 volt electricity meaning that, unless your computer or appliance is dual voltage or designed for 220 volts, you will need a converter or transformer. The cycles (Hz) are 50 per second.
TRANSPORTation
Ravenna can be easly reached by train from Bologna, the main city of the Emilia-Romagna region (look for your train at the new web site: The nearest airport is the Guglielmo Marconi international airport in Bologna ( The airport is about 6 km far from Bologna’s central railway station. When you arrive at the Airport, you can reach the station by “Aerobous” service, or by taxi (we recommend taking the “aerobus”, it is cheaper). As Bologna is one of the most important railway junction in Italy, it is very easy to take a train to Bologna, and the connection to Ravenna, also if you will arrive to any other airport in Italy (
The airport of Bologna is closed for refurbishment and it will not be reopen until July 5th. Probably this would not affect you; however, just in case please bear in mind that currently incoming flights are diverted to the airport of Rimini or to the airport of Forlì. If case you hit one of these airports then you should go directly to Ravenna, respectively by train or by bus.
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Conference Programme
Sunday 11th
19:00-22:00Registration and Welcoming Dinner at Restaurant Marchesini; address:
Via Mazzini, 2 (near “Piazza Caduti della Libertà” see map) Ravenna
Conference Centre: Centro Congressi – Ravenna
Monday 12th
08:30-08:40Opening address by the Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Prof. Andrea Contin
08:40-08:50Opening address by the Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Prof. Roberto Bertolani
08:50-09:05Presentation of the new Journal devoted to meiofauna “MEIOFAUNA MARINA” by the Editor Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa
THEME: New insights on phylogenetic relationships and distributional patterns of meiofaunal taxa based on morphological and/or molecular analysis
Session Chairpersons: Marco Curini-Galletti (Italy) & Rony Huys(U.K.)
09:15-10:00R. Møbjerg Kristensen.The current status of the latest three discovered phyla: Loricifera, Cycliophora and Micrognathozoa (Invited Speaker) Pag. 21
10:00-10:20A. Hejnol, R. Schnabel. 4D-Cell lineage studies in the light of new phylogenies 23
10:20-10:40J.G. Achatz, C.W. Gaerber, R. Gschwentner, W. Salvenmoser, R.M. Rieger. Phylogeny of the Sagittiferidae (Acoela): a molecular and ultrastructural approach 24
10:40-11:10Coffee break
11:10-11:30M.D. Hooge, S. Tyler. New tools for resolving phylogenies: a systematic revision of the Convolutidae (Acoela, Platyhelminthes) 25
11:30-11:50M. Curini-Galletti, D.T.J. Littlewood, T. Huyse, B.L. Webster, M. Casu. New insights on the phylogenetical relationships of the Proseriata (“Platyhelminthes”) 26
11:50-12:10P. Funch, G. Giribet, M. Obst. The phylogenetic positions of Cycliophora and Micrognathozoa and implications for meiofauna evolution 27
12:10-12:30S. de Zio Grimaldi, M. Gallo D’Addabbo, R. Sandulli, R. Møbjerg Kristensen. A new type of Cycloneuralia from a beach of Calabria, Italy 28
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Monday 12th
12:30-12:50M.V. Sørensen. The Gnathostomulid matrix reloaded – new morphological and molecular data clarify the gnathostomulid phylogeny Pag. 29
12:50-13:10K. Worsaae. Phylogeny of Nerillidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) ...... 30
13:10-14:30Lunch
Session Chairpersons: Marco Curini-Galletti (Italy) & Rony Huys(U.K.)
14:30-14:50I. Heiner, R. Møbjerg Kristensen. A new order of Loricifera from the Faroe Bank 31
14:50-15:10L. Guidi, L. Pierboni, R. Marotta, M. Ferraguti, M.A. Todaro, M. Balsamo.Sperm ultrastructure of Macrodasys caudatus (Gastrotricha, Macrodasyida), and a sperm-based phylogenetic analysis of Gastrotricha 32
15:10-15:30B.H.M. Meldal, P.J.D. Lambshead, A.D. Rogers, N.J. Debenham. Phylogenetic systematics of the phylum Nematoda – evidence from molecules and morphology 33
15:30-15:50S. Seifried. Phylogenetic relationships at the base of Harpacticoida (Copepoda) 34
15:50-16:10D.M.P. Galassi, P. De Laurentiis. A representative of the family Phyllognathopodidae from groundwater in Italy: a systematic and biogeographical dilemma (Copepoda, Harpacticoida) 35
16:10-16:40Coffee break
16:40-17:00W. Westheide. Meioafuna geographic distribution: vicariance and dispersal 36
17:00-17:20N.V. Schizas. The population genetic structure of meiobenthic taxa inhabiting Caribbean mangroves 37
17:20-17:40S. Derycke, M. Vincx, T. Moens. Seasonal fluctuations in the population genetic structure of the marine nematode Pellioditis marina 38
17:40-18:00H. Gheerardyn, F. Fiers, M. De Troch, M. Vincx.A new genus of Laophontidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida), with seven new species and their adaptation to coralligene substrates 39
18:00-18:20T. Glatzel, D. Königshoff. Mating behaviour of the “cosmopolitan” species Phyllognathopus viguieri (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from different geographic locations 40
18:20-18:40S.M. Villanueva, J.M. Quattro, B.C. Coull. Temporal genetic variation in the meiobenthic copepod Microarthridion littorale (Poppe) 41
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Tuesday 13th morning
THEME: Coupling habitat complexity/heterogeneity and meiofaunal assemblages
Session Chairperson: John W. Fleeger (U.S.A.)
08:30-09:15R.M. Warwick.Mosaics and meiofauna: links between habitat complexity and assemblage structure (Invited Speaker) Pag. 42
09:15-09:35P.E. Schmid, J.M. Schmid-Araya, M. Tokeshi. Multifractal theory in benthic stream communities 43
09:35-09:55D. Fontaneto, G. Melone, C. Ricci.Assessment of dispersal rate in moss-dwelling bdelloid rotifers by the analysis of metacommunity structure 44
09:55-10:15E. Ólafsson, J. Ullberg, N.L. Arroyo. The clam Macoma balthica prevents establishment of algal mats in shallow soft-bottoms: implications for the development of meiofaunal assemblages 45
10:15-10:35M. Hourston, R.M. Warwick, I.C. Potter. Free-living marine nematodes of South-Western Australia; variation in space and time 46
10:35-11:00Coffee break
11:00-11:20O. Giere, G. Arlt, F. Thiermann, P. Frenzel, M.A. Todaro. Siliceous and calcareous sands - different worlds for meiofauna? 47
11:20-11:40D.S. Johnson, K. Galvan, J.W. Fleeger. Variability in meiofaunal abundance among tidal creeks in a Massachusetts saltmarsh: studies with the meiofaunal polychaete, Manayunkia aestuarina 48
11:40-12:00P. Thinphanga. Small-scale spatial distribution of nematode communities of tropical estuarine intertidal mudflats 49
12:00-12:20H.M. Mitwally, S. Shabaka, H.M. Mostafa, Y. Halim. Distribution of meiofauna inside and outside sea grass meadow (Cymodocea nodosa), Montazah Bay, Alexandria, Egypt 50
12:20-12:40R.A. Stead, G. Asencio. Population dynamics of meiofaunal taxa from a tidal flat in Southern Chile 51
12:40-13:00Z.N. Zhang, H. Zhou, K.X. Lin, R.Z. Wang, S.Y. Tian. Abundance and biomass of the meiobenthos in autumn and spring in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea 52
13:00-14:30Lunch
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Tuesday 13th afternoon
THEME: Meiofauna in space and time
Session Chairpersons: Paul Montagna (U.S.A.) & Magda Vincx (Belgium)
14:30-14:50A. Muthumbi, A. Vanreusel, F. Mwonjoria. How variable are meiofauna communities in different mangrove forests? Pag. 53
14:50-15:10M. Moreno, V. Granelli, S. Farina, V. Marin, V.-S. Salvo, M. Fabiano. Spatial distribution of meiofauna along a steep environmental beach gradient of the Tyrrhenian Sea (NW Mediterranean) 54
15:10-15:30A. Calles, M. Vincx, P. Cornejo, J. Calderon. Response of meiofauna composition (especially nematodes) to physical disturbance in Ecuadorian sandy beaches 55
15:30-15:50A.M. Esteves, T.F. Maria, A.P. Wandeness. A comparative study of population structure of two species of nematodes Oncholaimus cobbi (Kreis, 1932) and Comesoma arenae Gerlach, 1946 in a Brazilian tropical tidalflat 56
15:50-16:20Coffee break
16:20-16:40V. Kalogeropoulou, K. Sevastou, A. Eleftheriou. Population structure and vertical distribution of two meiobenthic harpacticoid species of a sandy beach in Crete (Greece, Eastern Mediterranean) 57
16:40-17:00W. Lee, E.J. Nam, H.W. Bang. On the distribution of harpacticoid copepods from off Cheju Island, Korea 58
17:00-17:20S. Chullasorn. Meiofauna from six seagrass communities at Banpaklok, Phuket Island 59
17:20-17:40M. Suriyanarayana Moorthy, K. Altaff. Studies on meiobenthos of Chennai Coast, India 60
18:00Picture Group
19:00-21:001st POSTER SESSION: PRESENTATION BY AUTHORS
(Drinks and food will be served during the session)
THEMES:
- New insights on phylogenetic relationships and distributional patterns of meiofaunal taxa based on morphological and/or molecular analysis
- Coupling habitat complexity/heterogeneity and meiofaunal assemblages
- Meiofauna trophic relationships
- Other
N.B. At the end of the session the delegates are invited to remove their posters
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Wednesday 14th morning
THEME: Meiofauna trophic relationships
Session Chairperson: Emil Ólafsson(Sweden)
08:30-09:15K.R. Carman.How dark is the black box of meiofaunal trophic relationships? (Invited Speaker) Pag. 61
09:15-09:35I. De Mesel, S. Derycke, M. Vincx, J. Swings, T. Moens. Effect of bacterivorous nematodes on a bacterial community: a microcosm experiment 62
09:35-09:55T. Moens, G.A. Paiva dos Santos, F. Thompson, J. Swings, V. da Fonsêca-Genevois, M. Vincx. The mucus-trap hypothesis revisited: are bacterial communities colonizing nematode tracks different from those in their environment? 63
09:55-10:15F. Gallucci, T. Moens.Sediment preferences of marine predacious nematodes: can field distributions be explained by sediment effects on foraging efficiency? 64
10:15-10:35M. Bergtold, V. Günter, W. Traunspurger.Biotic interactions among ciliates and nematodes 65
10:35-11:00Coffee break
11:00-11:20N.L. Arroyo, K. Aarnio, E. Ólafsson. Food competition in two closely related phytal copepod species 66
11:20-11:40M. De Troch, M. BjörkSteinarsdóttir, V. Chepurnov, E. Ólafsson. Assimilation of diatoms by harpacticoid copepods: ecological implications 67
11:40-12:00M.J. Caramujo, M.J. Boavida, W. Admiraal. Fatty acid profiles of harpacticoid copepods: their importance as diet biomarkers and the role of bioconversion 68
12:00-12:20J. Vanaverbeke, M. Steyaert, K. Soetaert, M. Vincx. Functional response of nematode communities during a spring phytoplankton bloom sedimentation in the Southern Bight of the North Sea 69
12:20-12:40M.F. Jędrzejczak. Effect of decomposing washed-up seaweeds on interstitial fauna of a sandy beach: the role of free-living meiofauna 70
12:40-13:00M. Schmid-Araya, P.E. Schmid, A.G. Hildrew. Topological properties of food webs: patterns of self-similarity 71
13:00-14:30Lunch
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Wednesday 14th afternoon
THEME: Deep-sea meiofauna
Session Chairperson: David Thistle(U.S.A.)
14:30-15:15P.J.D. Lambshead. Introduction to deep-sea nematodes (Invited Speaker) Pag. 72
15:15-15:35E. Hoste, T. Soltwedel, S. Vanhove, A. Vanreusel. The temporal variation in the meiobenthos along a bathymetrical gradient (“Hausgarten”, Arctica): impact of climate oscillations 73
15:35-15:55G. Fonseca, A. Vanreusel, S. Vanhove. What the distribution range of deep-sea nematode species along bathymetric transects and geographical gradients? 74
15:55-16:15L.D. Guidi-Guilvard, S. Dallot, J.-P. Labat. Variations in space and time of nematode abundance at 2,347 m depth in the North-Western Mediterranean 75
16:15-16:35N. Lampadariou, A. Tselepides. The meiofaunal community structure of the Mediterranean deep-hyper-saline anoxic-basins 76
16:35-17:00Coffee break
17:00-17:20J. Zekely, C. Lee van Dover, M. Bright. Hydrothermal vent meiobenthos associated with mussel aggregations from East Pacific rise and Mid-Atlantic ridge 77
17:20-17:40S. Van Gaever, A. Vanreusel. Meiobenthos colonizing extreme environments at the active seeping Håkon Mosby mud Volcano (1250 M, Barents Sea) 78
17:40-18:00K.R. Buck, K.R. Carman, D. Thistle, L. Kuhnz, C. Lovera, G.F. Dilly, J.P. Barry. Meiofaunal standing stock at abyssal depths off Central California 79
18:00-18:20J.G. Baguley, P.A. Montagna. Multivariate interrelationship of meiofauna standing stocks with environmental variables in the Northern Gulf of Mexico deep sea 80
18:20-18:40A. Rose, S. Seifried, E. Willen, K.H. George, G. Veit-Köhler, K. Bröhldick, J. Drewes, G. Moura, P.M. Arbizu, H.K. Schminke. Comparisons on species-level harpacticoid alpha diversity per core, based on repeatedly sampled deep-sea multicorer stations in the Angola Basin 81
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Thursday 15th morning
THEME: Response of meiofaunal taxa and/or assemblages to physical and/or chemical disturbance
Session Chairperson: Olav Giere (Germany)
08:30-09:15G.T. Chandler, T.L. Cary, A.C. Bejarano, J.L. Ferry. Population consequences of meiofaunal exposure to Fipronil and its degradates at field concentrations: an integration of copepod lifecycle testing with Leslie-matrix population modeling (Invited Speaker) Pag. 82
09:15-09:35S. Marlborough, J.W. Fleeger. Co-contamination of metals and Phenanthrene elicit complex non-additive interactions in the harpacticoid copepod, Schizopera knabeni 83
09:35-09:55D. Thistle, K.R. Carman, L. Sedlacek, J.P. Barry, P.G. Brewer, J.W. Fleeger. Consequences for the deep-sea fauna of injection of liquid carbon dioxide: preliminary results 84
09:55-10:15S. Fraschetti, A. Terlizzi, L. Musco, A. Giangrande, C. Gambi, R. Danovaro.Changes in rocky substrate meiofaunal assemblages exposed to sewage pollution 85
10:15-10:35G. Tita, J.-F. Crémer, G. Desrosiers, B. Long.Employing meiofauna and axial tomodensitometry in an impact study of mussel farming in the Magdalen Islands (Quebec, Canada) 86
10:35-11:00Coffee break
11:00-11:20M. Schratzberger,P. Whomersley, K. Warr, S.G. Bolam, H.L. Rees. The role of lateral interstitial migration in the colonisation of estuarine sediments: a laboratory study 87
11:20-11:40M. De Troch, L. Vandepitte, F. Fiers, M. Vincx.Effect of habitat fragmentation on meiofauna: colonisation experiments in a Mexican seagrass bed 88
11:40-12:00J. Gwyther. The effect of grazing gastropods on meiofaunal colonisation of hard substrata in a temperate mangrove 89
12:00-12:20P.J.S. Boaden, H. Skjaeggestad.Impact of intertidal oyster trestle-culture on the meiobenthos of a strangford Lough sandflat 90
12:20-12:40P.A. Montagna, R. Burgess, J. Sharma. Assessment of stormwater outfalls in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas, USA using meiofauna 91
12:40-13:00T. Gheskiere, M. Vincx. Meio/nematofauna as sensitive indicators of change at touristic sandy beaches 92
13:00-13:20M. Steyaert, L. Moodley, J. Vanaverbeke, K. Soetaert, M. Vincx. Laboratorial experiments on infaunal activity of meiofauna 93
13:20-14:30Lunch
12th International Meiofauna ConferenceProgramme
Thursday 15th afternoon
THEME: Meiofauna in selected habitats
Session Chairpersons: Hans-U. Dahms (China), Diana M. P. Galassi (Italy) & Keith Walters (U.S.A.)
14:30-15:15D.L. Danielopol, P. Pospisil, S. Mayrhofer, S. Iepure. Subterranean aquatic habitats and the diversity of their crustacean meiofauna (Invited Speaker) Pag. 94
15:15-15:35T. Di Lorenzo, D.M.P. Galassi, F. Stoch, B. Fiasca, P. De Laurentiis, P. D’Ambrosio, E. Gattone.Distribution patterns of copepod assemblages from saturated karstic and porous aquifers in the Lessinian Massif (Italy) 95
15:35-15:55K. Aarnio, N.L. Arroyo, E. Ólafsson. Resource use of epifauna on decaying stages of the green algae Cladophora glomerata depends on their mobility patterns 96
15:55-16:15I. Muñoz, A. Gaudes, J. Artigas, A. Romaní, S. Sabater.Dynamics of litter colonization by meiofauna in a Mediterranean stream (NE Spain) 97
16:15-16:40Coffee break
16:40-17:00A. Gaudes, H. Guasch, A. Romaní, S. Sabater, E. Vilalta, I. Muñoz. Dynamics of the Nematoda community in a natural cyanobacterial river biofilm 98
17:00-17:20J. Reiss, J.M. Schmid-Araya.Small sized benthic communities in two second order streams 99
17:20-17:40C.E.F. Rocha, T.C. Kihara, R.L. Pinto, J.W. Reid, K. Martens, G.R. Lotufo, R. Huys, M.A. Todaro, M. Hooge. The biota-FAPESP program and inventories of the meiofauna of the State of São Paulo, Brazil 100
17:40-18:00N. Barnes, R.N. Bamber, T.J. Ferrero, M. Sheader. Biodiversity of meiofauna in UK saline lagoons 101
19:00-21:002nd POSTER SESSION: PRESENTATION BY AUTHORS
(Drinks and food will be served during the session)
THEMES:
- Response of meiofaunal taxa and/or assemblages to physical and/or chemical disturbance
- Deep-sea meiofauna
- Meiofauna in selected habitats
N.B. At the end of the session the delegates are invited to remove their posters