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Microfauna are present in every habitat on Earth. They fill essential roles as decomposers and food sources for lower trophic levels, and are necessary to drive processes within larger organisms. Populations of microfauna can reach up to ~10 (~10,000,000) individuals per g (0.1g, or 1/10th of a gram)
95:
Microfauna also inhabit freshwater ecosystems. For example, freshwater microfauna in
Australia include rotifers, ostracods, copepods, and cladocerans. Rotifers are filter feeders that are usually found in fresh water and water films. They consume a variety of things including bacteria, algae, plant
181:
within the rhizosphere by affecting their diversity and accelerating microorganism turnover. This happens because of the microfauna's selective grazing and their ability to influence the resources within the soil. For example, protozoa can help maintain the quality of the soil by grazing on soil
217:, animals that remain undescribed by science. Out of the estimated 10-20 million animal species in the world, only 1.8 million have been given scientific names, and many of the remaining millions are likely microfauna, much of it from the tropics.
92:
and are very common in plant litter, surface soils, and water films. Many microfauna, such as nematodes, inhabit soil habitats. Plant parasitic nematodes inhabit the roots of various plants, while free-living nematodes live in soil water films.
189:
Soil microfauna are capable of digesting just about any organic substance and some inorganic substances. These organisms are often essential links in the food chain between primary producers and larger species. For example,
836:
Heděnec, Petr; Jiménez, Juan Jose; Moradi, Jabbar; Domene, Xavier; Hackenberger, Davorka; Barot, Sebastien; Frossard, Aline; Oktaba, Lidia; Filser, Juliane; Kindlmann, Pavel; Frouz, Jan (2022-10-17).
55:"animal") refers to microscopic animals and organisms that exhibit animal-like qualities, and have body sizes that are usually <0.1mm. Microfauna are represented in the animal kingdom (e.g.
421:
or deposit feeders. They are important to the marine food web as they are preyed upon by other organisms. Macrofauna, such as flatworms, are able to be separated into small parts through
182:
bacteria. Through their grazing, the protozoa can help maintain populations of bacteria, allowing the bacteria to more efficiently decompose dead organic material which will improve the
339:
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within the soil can be affected by nematodes who will feed on the roots of plants, impacting the organic carbon in the soil. Similarly, soil protozoa are able to release
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71:). A large amount of microfauna are soil microfauna which includes protists, rotifers, and nematodes. These types of animal-like protists are
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Fernández-Luqueño, Fabián; Vázquez-Núñez, Edgar; Pérez-Hernandez, Hermes (2023-01-01), La Rosa, Guadalupe De; Peralta-Videa, Jose R. (eds.),
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are organisms that are greater than 2mm in size that usually inhabit soft sediments. They are also found in the benthic zone, and are
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One particular example of the role of microfauna can be seen in soil, where they are important in the cycling of nutrients in
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and assist with the digestion of food. In soil, there are three main groups of microflora: viruses, fungi, and bacteria.
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can be influenced by microfauna, specifically by nematodes and protozoa, which are abundant in soil. For instance, the
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Maurya, Anurag; Singh, Manoj Kumar; Kumar, Sushil (2020-01-01), Vara Prasad, Majeti
Narasimha; Grobelak, Anna (eds.),
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Aescht, E; Foissner, W (1996). "Microfauna". In
Schinner, F; Öhlinger, R; Kandeler, E; Margesin, R (eds.).
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838:"Global distribution of soil fauna functional groups and their estimated litter consumption across biomes"
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are widespread microscopic animals and protists that feed on algae and detritus in the ocean, such as
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700:"Contributions of soil micro-fauna (protozoa and nematodes) to rhizosphere ecological functions"
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213:, due to their small size and great diversity. Many microfauna are members of the so-called
566:"Chapter Two - Nature of the Belowground Ecosystem and Its Development during Pedogenesis"
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122:. However, they have also been found in all types of environments, ranging from the
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The role of soil microfauna in Plant disease suppression. University of
California
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531:, Nanomaterial-Plant Interactions, vol. 4, Academic Press, pp. 89–114,
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Chen, Xiaoyun; Liu, Manqiang; Hu, Feng; Mao, Xiaofang; Li, Huixin (2007-08-01).
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Term for microscopic animals and organisms that exhibit animal-like qualities
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Microfauna also aid in digestion and other processes in larger organisms.
937:"Chapter 7 - Biofiltration technique for removal of waterborne pathogens"
905:, in Cochran, J. Kirk; Bokuniewicz, Henry J.; Yager, Patricia L. (eds.),
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677:"4 - The role of free-living protozoa in protecting foodborne pathogens"
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Cultural anthropology & human experience : the feast of life
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Woodhead
Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition
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Physicochemical
Interactions of Engineered Nanoparticles and Plants
746:"Protozoan - Cell Structure, Nutrition, Reproduction | Britannica"
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819:"Briny deep basin may be home to animals thriving without oxygen"
525:"Chapter 4 - Biophysicochemical transformations of ENMs in soil"
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by dissolving the organic material and nutrients available.
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Haynes, Richard John (2014-01-01), Sparks, Donald (ed.),
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Examples of notable phyla that include some microfauna:
646:. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 316–337.
572:, vol. 127, Academic Press, pp. 43–109,
907:Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences (Third Edition)
302:species, which spend their entire lives in an
110:. They need water in these areas to allow for
771:"Animals thrive without oxygen at sea bottom"
425:, and are able to decompose organic matter.
8:
909:, Oxford: Academic Press, pp. 728–734,
355:type of rotifer only found in the leaves of
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209:The microfauna are the least understood of
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138:The microbiome of plants includes the
118:. Because of this they are considered
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687:: 81–101 – via Science Direct.
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280:, ("Water bears" or "moss piglets")
578:10.1016/b978-0-12-800131-8.00002-9
432:Size Comparison of soil organisms
154:. The ecological functions of the
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447:are organisms that reside within
177:Soil micro-fauna can also impact
490:Dettwyler, Katherine A. (2011).
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311:Microscopic Images of Microfauna
298:, these are recently discovered
34:Soybean cyst nematode and egg.
1:
724:10.1016/S1872-2032(07)60068-7
96:cells, and organic material.
769:Fang, Janet (6 April 2010).
652:10.1007/978-3-642-60966-4_22
970:"National Cancer Institute"
901:Watling, Les (2019-01-01),
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862:10.1038/s41598-022-21563-z
170:into the soil and higher
114:and to prevent them from
375:that was extracted from
644:Methods in Soil Biology
598:"Australian Waterline"
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393:Caenorhabditis elegans
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35:
704:Acta Ecologica Sinica
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184:fertility of the soil
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102:inhabit a variety of
83:, or even predators.
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941:Waterborne Pathogens
570:Advances in Agronomy
1018:Microscopic animals
854:2022NatSR..1217362H
787:2010Natur.464..825F
716:2007AcEcS..27.3132C
358:Sarracenia purpurea
286:, ("Wheel animals")
842:Scientific Reports
750:www.britannica.com
675:Vaerewijck; Houf.
494:. Long Grove, IL.
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419:suspension feeders
252:, ("Crustaceans")
245:, ("Spider mites")
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36:
950:978-0-12-818783-8
916:978-0-12-813082-7
661:978-3-642-64633-1
538:978-0-323-90558-9
270:, ("Seed shrimp")
264:, ("Water fleas")
16:(Redirected from
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237:Dermatophagoides
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978:. Retrieved
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903:"Macrofauna"
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618:"Tardigrade"
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306:environment.
229:Microscopic
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196:foraminifera
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140:phyllosphere
112:gas exchange
98:
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77:detritivores
52:
45:
38:
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192:zooplankton
156:rhizosphere
144:rhizosphere
116:desiccating
100:Tardigrades
18:Microanimal
1007:Categories
980:2024-03-01
956:2024-03-01
922:2024-03-01
755:2024-03-28
628:2024-03-25
583:2024-02-29
544:2024-02-13
477:References
449:intestines
445:Microflora
438:Microflora
415:Macrofauna
408:Macrofauna
390:Nematoda (
373:Tardigrade
296:Loricifera
278:Tardigrada
231:arthropoda
164:phosphorus
152:ecosystems
126:to dunes.
81:fungivores
69:protozoans
63:) and the
61:arthropods
48:"small" +
39:Microfauna
870:2045-2322
732:1872-2032
510:706024344
471:Mesofauna
466:Megafauna
300:anaerobic
268:Ostracoda
262:Cladocera
250:Crustacea
215:cryptozoa
211:soil life
205:Cryptozoa
57:nematodes
50:Neo-Latin
888:36253487
805:20376121
455:See also
346:Rotifera
324:Arachnid
290:Nematoda
284:Rotifera
256:Cocepoda
168:nitrogen
142:and the
124:deep sea
59:, small
1013:Zoology
879:9576680
850:Bibcode
783:Bibcode
712:Bibcode
622:Animals
120:aquatic
104:lichens
87:Habitat
65:protist
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886:
876:
868:
803:
775:Nature
730:
658:
535:
508:
498:
304:anoxic
108:mosses
46:mikros
601:(PDF)
461:Fauna
248:Some
221:Phyla
53:fauna
945:ISBN
911:ISBN
884:PMID
866:ISSN
801:PMID
728:ISSN
656:ISBN
533:ISBN
506:OCLC
496:ISBN
377:moss
198:.
166:and
130:Role
106:and
874:PMC
858:doi
791:doi
779:464
720:doi
648:doi
574:doi
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
