Fundamental questions in meiofauna research highlight how small but ubiquitous animals can improve our understanding of nature

Martínez, AlejandroBonaglia, StefanoDi Domenico, MaikonFonseca, GustavoIngels, JeroenJörger, Katharina M.Laumer, ChristopherLeasi, FrancescaZeppilli, DanielaBaldrighi, ElisaBik, HollyCepeda, DiegoCurini Galletti, MarcoCutter, Asher D.dos Santos, GiovanniFattorini, SimoneFrisch, DagmarGollner, SabineJondelius, UlfKerbl, AlexandraKocot, Kevin M.Majdi, NabilMammola, StefanoMartín Durán, José M.Menegotto, AndréMontagna, Paul A.Nascimento, Francisco J. A.Puillandre, NicolasRognant, AnneSánchez Santos, NuriaSantos, Isaac R.Schmidt-Rhaesa, AndreasSchratzberger, MichaelaSemprucci, FedericaShimabukuro, MauricioSommerfield, Paul J.Struck, Torsten H.Sørensen, Martin V.Wallberg, AndreasWorsaae, KatrineYamasaki, HiroshiFontaneto, Diego2025-05-192025-05-192025-03Martínez, A., Bonaglia, S., Di Domenico, M. et al. Fundamental questions in meiofauna research highlight how small but ubiquitous animals can improve our understanding of Nature. Commun Biol 8, 449 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07888-12399-364210.1038/s42003-025-07888-1https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/120222Acknowledgements: Kevin M. Kocot was funded by NSF DEB-1846174. Dagmar Frisch Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG- German Research Foundation) – Project number 461099895. André Menegotto was supported by a “Juan de la Cierva—Formación” fellowship (FJC2020044080-I), funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR”. The study received support from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) of the Italian Ministry of University and Research, funded by the European Union—NextGenerationEU, project code CN_00000033, National Biodiversity Future Center—NBFC, CUP B83C22002930006.This paper identifies the top-50 priority questions for meiofaunal research, highlighting their critical roles in biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity. It calls for a balanced research agenda, international cooperation, and advances in technology to overcome current challenges and unlock meiofauna’s full potential.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Fundamental questions in meiofauna research highlight how small but ubiquitous animals can improve our understanding of naturejournal articlehttps://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07888-1https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-07888-1#citeasopen access574.5595.3Ecología (Biología)InvertebradosEvolución2401.06 Ecología Animal2401.19 Zoología Marina