To advance understanding of meiofauna, key components of marine benthic ecosystems, an international team conducted a morphology-based taxonomic survey and workshop around São Miguel, the largest Azorean island, in 2019. The survey yielded critical baseline data on meiofaunal diversity and, despite taxonomic challenges that limited identification of certain taxa, laid a solid foundation for further research. To expand these fi...

Meiofaunal animals, roughly between 0.045 and 1 mm in size, are ubiquitous and ecologically important inhabitants of benthic marine ecosystems. Their high species richness and rapid response to environmental change make them promising targets for ecological and biomonitoring studies. However, diversity patterns of benthic marine meiofauna remain poorly known due to challenges in species identification using classical morpholog...