New Horizons in Meiobenthos Research

Since research on meiobenthos was last compiled in a textbook (2008/2009), the number of theoretical and applied studies has been growing rapidly. Supported by new methods and digital evaluation, meiobenthology has developed into a wide field, with more and more researchers studying cross-disciplinary aspects. New perspectives were summarized in a booklet (2019) to draw attention to promising research directions. The present book, written by leading experts, is a compilation of new thinking, data, methods and approaches in many relevant fields of recent meiobenthos research. The topics addressed range from bacteria and biofilms to globally changing processes, from polar regions to the deep-sea and from freshwater ecosystems to the ocean. So, this book is not simply another meiobenthos textbook - it is an attempt to identify new horizons in meiobenthos research, driven by the vision of advancing knowledge and understanding of benthic ecosystems.

Olav Giere is Professor Emeritus from Hamburg University (Germany), was Acting Professor since 1981 at the Zoological Institute and Museum, and there, he was Director Elected from 1999 to 2003. 

 As Invited Professor and Scientist, he acted in and cooperated with numerous European institutes in North America, Bermuda, Belize, Japan and Australia. His main topics of interests are: 

·       ecology and biology of marine Oligochaeta, 

·       response of meiofauna to oil pollution, 

·       reactions and adaptations of meiofauna to anoxia and hydrogen sulphide, 

·       bacteria-symbioses in animals from sulphidic habitats. 

During his scientific activities, he worked in shallow shores and deep-sea sites all over the world. He organized and participated in several research projects, funded by the German Research Council (DFG) and the European Union. He was President of the International Association of Meiobenthologists from 1984 to 1986. 

His publications comprise about 120 peer-reviewed papers and reviews, and he is Author of the monographic textbook 'Meiobenthology - The Science of Microscopic Motile Fauna in Aquatic Sediments' published in 2009 and in a 2^nd revised and expanded edition in 2009 (Springer, 527 pp). He is Author of  'Perspectives in Meiobenthology - Reviews, Reflections and Conclusions' (SpringerBriefs in Biology, 81 pp., 2019). 

 

Dr. Michaela Schratzberger is Science Director at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in the UK, with responsibility for approximately 140 scientific and technical staff working in the broad area of environmental science. 

  

She has over 20 years' post-doctoral experience in marine ecology, specializing in the effects of environmental change on the ocean and biodiversity. Her research involves multidisciplinary studies assessing the response of marine ecosystems to natural and anthropogenic disturbance. She has been leading scientific input into large EU-, Defra- and UKRI-funded multidisciplinary research programmes and advises UK government on biodiversity-related issues in relation to the delivery of a UK network of Marine Protected Areas. 

  

She is involved in international and national fora. She chaired the ICES Study Group on Biodiversity Science which became a Working Group under their leadership. She has been Associate Editor of the international peer-reviewed journal Marine Biodiversity since 2008 and Technic^ 50% as lead author, > 3000 citations, H-index 30).  

As Ph.D. Supervisor, Honorary Lecturer at the University of East Anglia and Mentor, she is supporting the next generation of scientists. She supervises Ph.D. students, acts as external examiner for Ph.D. theses and has served on selection and evaluation panels of European Universities and on scientific steering committees of various international scientific conferences.