{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T04:18:34Z","timestamp":1773980314306,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":116,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765929600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765929600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008530","name":"European Regional Development Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008530","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000076","name":"Directorate for Biological Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000076","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001663","name":"Volkswagen Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001663","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Azores Regional Government"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2412308"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2412308"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Mar. Biodivers."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To advance understanding of meiofauna, key components of marine benthic ecosystems, an international team conducted a morphology-based taxonomic survey and workshop around S\u00e3o 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 findings, additional samples were analyzed using DNA metabarcoding, a powerful tool that assesses multiple facets of biodiversity, including richness, community composition, and phylogenetic diversity. Metabarcoding identified 480 meiofaunal amplicon sequence variants across 14 phyla, more than doubling the 180 taxa recorded through morphology alone. Of these, 298 (approximately 62%) belonged to phyla targeted during the morphology-based workshop. A comparison between the two approaches, focusing on clades addressed during the workshop, revealed overlapping but expanded patterns of diversity relative to morphology-based taxonomy. This consistency supports the metabarcoding\u2019s ability to uncover meiofaunal diversity and underscores the importance of integrating both methods to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of biodiversity and ecological patterns. As the first metabarcoding study in the Azores, this work establishes a biodiversity baseline for a remote and understudied region, indicating greater benthic diversity than previously recognized. By revealing the complexity of these understudied ecosystems, this research contributes to document and support conservation of biodiversity in the Azores and emphasizes the need for further exploration of meiofaunal communities in isolated oceanic environments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s12526-025-01615-z","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]],"date-time":"2025-12-17T14:21:59Z","timestamp":1765981319000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["High meiofaunal diversity in the Azores revealed through DNA metabarcoding"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"56","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6995-0934","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesca","family":"Leasi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nuno V.","family":"\u00c1lvaro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Luiz F.","family":"Andrade","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Thiago Q.","family":"Ara\u00fajo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"V\u00edctor","family":"Aramayo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Tom","family":"Artois","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Will M.","family":"Ballentine","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Franziska S.","family":"Bergmeier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Andrea Z.","family":"Botelho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ariane","family":"Buckenmeyer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ana T.","family":"Capucho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Irina","family":"Cherneva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ana Cristina Ricardo","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Marco","family":"Curini-Galletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Anitha Mary","family":"Davidson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Wang","family":"Deng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Maikon","family":"Di Domenico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Christina","family":"Ellison","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Jan","family":"Engelhardt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Fais","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Duarte G.","family":"Frade","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ant\u00f3nio M.","family":"de Frias Martins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Freya E.","family":"Goetz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Rick","family":"Hochberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Alberto","family":"de Jesus-Navarrete","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ulf","family":"Jondelius","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ylva","family":"Jondelius","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Katharina M.","family":"J\u00f6rger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nina","family":"Luckas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Alejandro","family":"Mart\u00ednez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Mikhlina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Timea P.","family":"Neusser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Jon L.","family":"Norenburg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Juan C. F.","family":"Pardo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Ant\u00f4nio J. M.","family":"Peixoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nickellaus","family":"Roberts","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Alexandra","family":"Savchenko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Andreas","family":"Schmidt-Rhaesa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Lenke","family":"T\u00f6dter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Meghan","family":"Yap-Chiongco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Diego","family":"Fontaneto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"1615_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e6372","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0006372","volume":"4","author":"LA Amaral-Zettler","year":"2009","unstructured":"Amaral-Zettler LA, McCliment EA, Ducklow HW, Huse SM (2009) A method for studying protistan diversity using massively parallel sequencing of V9 hypervariable regions of small-subunit ribosomal RNA genes. PLoS One 4:e6372","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"1615_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2156-12-13","volume":"12","author":"CD Ambrose","year":"2011","unstructured":"Ambrose CD, Crease TJ (2011) Evolution of the nuclear ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer in four species of the Daphnia pulex complex. BMC Genet 12:13","journal-title":"BMC Genet"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR3","first-page":"151","volume":"11","author":"LF Andrade","year":"2021","unstructured":"Andrade LF, Pardo JCF, Costa AC (2021) New insights of soft bottom shallow water amphipods from the Azores. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):151\u2013175","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR4","first-page":"57","volume":"11","author":"TQ Araujo","year":"2021","unstructured":"Araujo TQ, Hochberg R (2021) Marine gastrotricha of the Azores: updated checklist from S\u00e3o Miguel Island. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):57\u201377","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"key":"1615_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2131","DOI":"10.1101\/gr.275777.121","volume":"31","author":"G Armstrong","year":"2021","unstructured":"Armstrong G, Cantrell K, Huang S, McDonald D, Haiminen N, Carrieri AP, Zhu Q, Gonzalez A, McGrath I, Beck KL, Hakim D (2021) Efficient computation of Faith\u2019s phylogenetic diversity with applications in characterizing microbiomes. Genome Res 31:2131\u20132137","journal-title":"Genome Res"},{"key":"1615_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e51813","DOI":"10.3897\/BDJ.8.e51813","volume":"8","author":"S Atherton","year":"2020","unstructured":"Atherton S, Jondelius U (2020) Biodiversity between sand grains: meiofauna composition across southern and western Sweden assessed by metabarcoding. Biodivers Data J 8:e51813","journal-title":"Biodivers Data J"},{"key":"1615_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1123","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2699.2008.01881.x","volume":"35","author":"SP \u00c1vila","year":"2008","unstructured":"\u00c1vila SP, Madeira P, Mendes N, Rebelo A, Medeiros A, Gomes C, Garc\u00eda-Talavera F, Da Silva CM, Cach\u00e3o M, Hillaire-Marcel C, de Frias Martins AM (2008) Mass extinctions in the Azores during the last glaciation: fact or myth? J Biogeogr 35:1123\u20131129","journal-title":"J Biogeogr"},{"key":"1615_CR8","first-page":"201","volume":"6","author":"RN Bamber","year":"2009","unstructured":"Bamber RN, Robbins R (2009) The soft sediment infauna off S\u00e3o Miguel, Azores, and a comparison with other Azorean invertebrate habitats. A\u00e7oreana 6:201\u2013210","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"key":"1615_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1007\/s00027-021-00828-1","volume":"83","author":"B Bellisario","year":"2021","unstructured":"Bellisario B, Fais M, Duarte S, Vieira PE, Canchaya C, Costa FO (2021) The network structure of intertidal meiofaunal communities from environmental DNA metabarcoding surveys in Northwest Iberia. Aquat Sci 83:71","journal-title":"Aquat Sci"},{"key":"1615_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"852","DOI":"10.1038\/s41587-019-0209-9","volume":"37","author":"E Bolyen","year":"2019","unstructured":"Bolyen E, Rideout JR, Dillon MR, Bokulich NA, Abnet CC, Al-Ghalith GA, Alexander H, Alm EJ, Arumugam M, Asnicar F, Bai Y, Bisanz JE et al (2019) Reproducible, interactive, scalable and extensible microbiome data science using QIIME 2. Nat Biotechnol 37:852\u2013857","journal-title":"Nat Biotechnol"},{"key":"1615_CR11","first-page":"70","volume-title":"Encyclopedia of Islands","author":"PAV Borges","year":"2009","unstructured":"Borges PAV, Amorim IR, da Cunha RT, Gabriel R, Martins AM, Silva L, Costa AC, Vieira V (2009) Azores. In: Gillespie RG, Clague DA (eds) Encyclopedia of Islands. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 70\u201375"},{"key":"1615_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Borges PAV, Santos AMC, Elias RB, Gabriel R (2020) The Azores Archipelago: biodiversity erosion and conservation biogeography. In: Goldstein MI, DellaSala DA (eds) Encyclopedia of the world\u2019s biomes. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 101\u2013113","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-409548-9.11949-9"},{"key":"1615_CR13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1016\/j.margen.2015.05.007","volume":"23","author":"PM Brannock","year":"2015","unstructured":"Brannock PM, Halanych KM (2015) Meiofaunal community analysis by high-throughput sequencing: comparison of extraction, quality filtering, and clustering methods. Mar Genomics 23:67\u201375","journal-title":"Mar Genomics"},{"key":"1615_CR14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2234","DOI":"10.1002\/ece3.1485","volume":"5","author":"EA Brown","year":"2015","unstructured":"Brown EA, Chain FJJ, Crease TJ, MacIsaac HJ, Cristescu ME (2015) Divergence thresholds and divergent biodiversity estimates: can metabarcoding reliably describe zooplankton communities? Ecol Evol 5:2234\u20132251","journal-title":"Ecol Evol"},{"key":"1615_CR15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"581","DOI":"10.1038\/nmeth.3869","volume":"13","author":"BJ Callahan","year":"2016","unstructured":"Callahan BJ, McMurdie PJ, Rosen MJ, Han AW, Johnson AJA, Holmes SP (2016) DADA2: high-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data. Nat Methods 13:581\u2013583","journal-title":"Nat Methods"},{"key":"1615_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cameron ES, Schmidt PJ, Tremblay BJ-M, Emelko MB, M\u00fcller KM (2021) To rarefy or not to rarefy: enhancing diversity analysis of microbial communities through next-generation sequencing and rarefying repeatedly. bioRxiv 2020 09.09:290049","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.09.09.290049"},{"key":"1615_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2699.2009.02181.x","volume":"37","author":"MA Carine","year":"2010","unstructured":"Carine MA, Schaefer H (2010) The Azores diversity enigma: why are there so few Azorean endemic flowering plants and why are they so widespread? J Biogeogr 37:77\u201389","journal-title":"J Biogeogr"},{"issue":"6","key":"1615_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1229","DOI":"10.1002\/edn3.245","volume":"3","author":"JM Casey","year":"2021","unstructured":"Casey JM, Ransome E, Collins AG, Mahardini A, Kurniasih EM, Sembiring A, Schiettekatte NM, Cahyani NK, Wahyu Anggoro A, Moore M, Uehling A (2021) DNA metabarcoding marker choice skews perception of marine eukaryotic biodiversity. Environ DNA 3(6):1229\u20131246","journal-title":"Environ DNA"},{"key":"1615_CR19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3407","DOI":"10.1007\/s10750-021-04576-z","volume":"848","author":"LR Castro","year":"2021","unstructured":"Castro LR, Meyer RS, Shapiro B, Shirazi S, Cutler S, Lagos AM, Quiroga SY (2021) Metabarcoding meiofauna biodiversity assessment in four beaches of Northern Colombia: effects of sampling protocols and primer choice. Hydrobiologia 848:3407\u20133426","journal-title":"Hydrobiologia"},{"key":"1615_CR20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6519","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-020-63561-z","volume":"10","author":"J Choi","year":"2020","unstructured":"Choi J, Park JS (2020) Comparative analyses of the V4 and V9 regions of 18S rDNA for the extant eukaryotic community using the Illumina platform. Sci Rep 10:6519","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"1615_CR21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1007","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2699.2011.02671.x","volume":"39","author":"SE Connor","year":"2012","unstructured":"Connor SE, van Leeuwen JFN, Rittenour TM, van der Knaap WO, Ammann B, Bj\u00f6rck S (2012) The ecological impact of oceanic island colonization\u2013a palaeoecological perspective from the Azores. J Biogeogr 39:1007\u20131023","journal-title":"J Biogeogr"},{"key":"1615_CR22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e17727","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.17727","volume":"12","author":"GC Coppo","year":"2024","unstructured":"Coppo GC, Pereira AP, Netto SA, Bernardino AF (2024) Meiofauna at a tropical sandy beach in the SW Atlantic: the influence of seasonality on diversity. PeerJ 12:e17727","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"1615_CR23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-294X.2009.04473.x","volume":"19","author":"S Creer","year":"2010","unstructured":"Creer S, Fonseca VG, Porazinska DL, Giblin-Davis RM, Sung W, Power DM et al (2010) Ultrasequencing of the meiofaunal biosphere: practice, pitfalls and promise. Mol Ecol 19:4\u201320","journal-title":"Mol Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1008","DOI":"10.1111\/2041-210X.12574","volume":"7","author":"S Creer","year":"2016","unstructured":"Creer S, Deiner K, Frey S, Porazinska D, Taberlet P, Thomas WK, Potter C, Bik HM (2016) The ecologist\u2019s field guide to sequence-based identification of biodiversity. Methods Ecol Evol 7:1008\u20131018","journal-title":"Methods Ecol Evol"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR25","first-page":"85","volume":"11","author":"M Curini-Galletti","year":"2021","unstructured":"Curini-Galletti M (2021) Contribution to the knowledge of Proseriata (Platyhelminthes: Rhabditophora) of the Azores. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):85\u201395","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR26","first-page":"43","volume":"11","author":"A De Jes\u00fas Navarrete","year":"2021","unstructured":"De Jes\u00fas Navarrete A, Aramayo V, Davidson AM, Costa AC (2021) Free-living marine nematodes diversity at Ponta Delgada\u2013S\u00e3o Miguel (Azores Archipelago, North-East Atlantic Ocean): first results from shallow soft-bottom habitats. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):43\u201355","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"issue":"8","key":"1615_CR27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e104297","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0104297","volume":"9","author":"J Decelle","year":"2014","unstructured":"Decelle J, Romac S, Sasaki E, Not F, Mahe F (2014) Intracellular diversity of the V4 and V9 regions of the 18S rRNA in marine protists (radiolarians) assessed by high-throughput sequencing. PLoS ONE 9(8):e104297","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"1615_CR28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1186\/1759-8753-3-4","volume":"3","author":"SHC Eagle","year":"2012","unstructured":"Eagle SHC, Crease TJ (2012) Copy number variation of ribosomal DNA and Pokey transposons in natural populations of Daphnia. Mob DNA 3:4","journal-title":"Mob DNA"},{"key":"1615_CR29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"106683","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecss.2020.106683","volume":"242","author":"M Fais","year":"2020","unstructured":"Fais M, Sofia D, Emanuel VP, Ronaldo S, Mehrdad H, Alberto CC, Oliveira CF (2020) Small-scale spatial variation of meiofaunal communities in Lima estuary (NW Portugal) assessed through metabarcoding. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 242:106683","journal-title":"Estuar Coast Shelf Sci"},{"key":"1615_CR30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-22461-9_7","volume-title":"Biodiversity conservation and phylogenetic systematics: preserving our evolutionary heritage in an extinction crisis","author":"DP Faith","year":"2016","unstructured":"Faith DP (2016) Using phylogenetic dissimilarities among sites for biodiversity assessments and conservation. In: Pellens R, Grandcolas P (eds) Biodiversity conservation and phylogenetic systematics: preserving our evolutionary heritage in an extinction crisis. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 119\u2013139"},{"key":"1615_CR31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1177\/117693430600200007","volume":"2","author":"DP Faith","year":"2006","unstructured":"Faith DP, Baker AM (2006) Phylogenetic diversity (PD) and biodiversity conservation: some bioinformatics challenges. Evol Bioinform Online 2:121\u2013128","journal-title":"Evol Bioinform Online"},{"key":"1615_CR32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Faria LCd, Di Domenico M, Andrade SCS, Santos MCd, Fonseca G, Zanol J, Amaral ACZ (2018) The use of metabarcoding for meiofauna ecological patterns assessment. Mar Environ Res 140:160\u2013168","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marenvres.2018.06.013"},{"key":"1615_CR33","first-page":"39","volume":"30","author":"MT Ferreira","year":"2013","unstructured":"Ferreira MT, Borges PAV, Nunes L, Myles TG, Guerreiro O, Scheffrahn RH (2013) Termites (Isoptera) in the Azores: an overview of the four invasive species currently present in the archipelago. Arquipel Life Mar Sci 30:39\u201355","journal-title":"Arquipel Life Mar Sci"},{"key":"1615_CR34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0218168","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0218168","volume":"14","author":"MT Ferreira","year":"2019","unstructured":"Ferreira MT, Cardoso P, Borges PAV, Gabriel R, de Azevedo EB, Elias RB (2019) Implications of climate change to the design of protected areas: the case study of small islands (Azores). PLoS ONE 14:e0218168","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"1615_CR35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Flegontova O, Luke\u0161 J, Hor\u00e1k A (2023) Intragenomic diversity of the V9 hypervariable domain in eukaryotes has little effect on metabarcoding. iScience\u00a0","DOI":"10.1016\/j.isci.2023.107291"},{"key":"1615_CR36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms1095","volume":"1","author":"VG Fonseca","year":"2010","unstructured":"Fonseca VG, Carvalho GR, Sung W, Johnson HF, Power DM, Neill SP, Packer M, Blaxter ML, Lambshead PJD, Thomas WK, Creer S (2010) Second-generation environmental sequencing unmasks marine metazoan biodiversity. Nat Commun 1:98","journal-title":"Nat Commun"},{"key":"1615_CR37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fonseca V, Packer M, Carvalho G, Power D, Lambshead J, Creer S (2011) Isolation of marine meiofauna from sandy sediments: from decanting to DNA extraction. Protoc Exch\u00a0","DOI":"10.1038\/nprot.2010.157"},{"key":"1615_CR38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jembe.2017.05.007","volume":"502","author":"G Fonseca","year":"2017","unstructured":"Fonseca G, Fontaneto D, Di Domenico M (2017) Addressing biodiversity shortfalls in meiofauna. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 502:26\u201338","journal-title":"J Exp Mar Biol Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6094","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-017-06687-x","volume":"7","author":"VG Fonseca","year":"2017","unstructured":"Fonseca VG, Sinniger F, Gaspar JM, Quince C, Creer S, Power DM, Peck LS, Clark MS (2017) Revealing higher than expected meiofaunal diversity in Antarctic sediments: a metabarcoding approach. Sci Rep 7:6094","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"1615_CR40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1038\/s43705-022-00118-3","volume":"2","author":"VG Fonseca","year":"2022","unstructured":"Fonseca VG, Kirse A, Giebner H, Vause BJ, Drago T, Power DM, Peck LS, Clark MS (2022) Metabarcoding the Antarctic Peninsula biodiversity using a multi-gene approach. ISME Commun 2:37","journal-title":"ISME Commun"},{"key":"1615_CR41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"433","DOI":"10.1007\/s12526-015-0319-7","volume":"45","author":"D Fontaneto","year":"2015","unstructured":"Fontaneto D, Flot J-F, Tang CQ (2015) Guidelines for DNA taxonomy, with a focus on the meiofauna. Mar Biodivers 45:433\u2013451","journal-title":"Mar Biodivers"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR42","first-page":"79","volume":"11","author":"D Fontaneto","year":"2021","unstructured":"Fontaneto D, Rodr\u00edguez-Gij\u00f3n A, Garlasch\u00e8 G (2021) A survey of Azorean rotifers. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):79\u201384","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"key":"1615_CR43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15792","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-019-51786-6","volume":"9","author":"R Freitas","year":"2019","unstructured":"Freitas R, Romeiras M, Silva L, Cordeiro R, Madeira P, Gonz\u00e1lez JA, Wirtz P, Falc\u00f3n JM, Brito A, Floeter SR, Afonso P (2019) Restructuring of the \u2018Macaronesia\u2019 biogeographic unit: a marine multi-taxon biogeographical approach. Sci Rep 9:15792","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"1615_CR44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"730063","DOI":"10.3389\/fmars.2021.730063","volume":"8","author":"R Gielings","year":"2021","unstructured":"Gielings R, Fais M, Fontaneto D, Creer S, Costa FO, Renema W, Macher JN (2021) DNA metabarcoding methods for the study of marine benthic meiofauna: a review. Front Mar Sci 8:730063","journal-title":"Front Mar Sci"},{"key":"1615_CR45","unstructured":"Giere, O. (2009). Meiobenthology: The microscopic motile fauna of aquatic sediments. Springer Science & Business Media."},{"key":"1615_CR46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"R756","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2023.04.075","volume":"33","author":"G Giribet","year":"2023","unstructured":"Giribet G, Wangensteen OS, Garc\u00e9s-Pastor S, M\u00f8ller PR, Worsaae K (2023) Using eDNA to find Micrognathozoa. Curr Biol 33:R756\u2013R757","journal-title":"Curr Biol"},{"key":"1615_CR47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiotec.2017.06.1198","volume":"261","author":"FO Gl\u00f6ckner","year":"2017","unstructured":"Gl\u00f6ckner FO, Yilmaz P, Quast C, Gerken J, Beccati A, Ciuprina A, Bruns G, Yarza P, Peplies J, Westram R, Ludwig W (2017) 25 years of serving the community with ribosomal RNA gene reference databases and tools. J Biotechnol 261:169\u2013176","journal-title":"J Biotechnol"},{"key":"1615_CR48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e12731","DOI":"10.3897\/BDJ.5.e12731","volume":"5","author":"Q Haenel","year":"2017","unstructured":"Haenel Q, Holovachov O, Jondelius U, Sundberg P, Bourlat S (2017) NGS-based biodiversity and community structure analysis of meiofaunal eukaryotes in shell sand from H\u00e5ll\u00f6 island, Sm\u00f6gen, and soft mud from Gullmarn Fjord, Sweden. Biodivers Data J 5:e12731","journal-title":"Biodivers Data J"},{"key":"1615_CR49","first-page":"134","volume-title":"Introduction to the study of meiofauna","author":"RP Higgins","year":"1988","unstructured":"Higgins RP, Thiel H (1988) Introduction to the study of meiofauna. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp 134\u2013145"},{"key":"1615_CR50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e10021","DOI":"10.3897\/BDJ.4.e10021","volume":"4","author":"O Holovachov","year":"2016","unstructured":"Holovachov O (2016) Metabarcoding of marine nematodes \u2013 evaluation of reference datasets used in tree-based taxonomy assignment approach. Biodivers Data J 4:e10021","journal-title":"Biodivers Data J"},{"issue":"8","key":"1615_CR51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"170315","DOI":"10.1098\/rsos.170315","volume":"4","author":"O Holovachov","year":"2017","unstructured":"Holovachov O, Haenel Q, Bourlat SJ, Jondelius U (2017) Taxonomy assignment approach determines the efficiency of identification of OTUs in marine nematodes. R Soc Open Sci 4(8):170315","journal-title":"R Soc Open Sci"},{"key":"1615_CR52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2389","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btac127","volume":"38","author":"J Hong","year":"2022","unstructured":"Hong J, Karaoz U, de Valpine P, Fithian W (2022) To rarefy or not to rarefy: robustness and efficiency trade-offs of rarefying microbiome data. Bioinformatics 38:2389\u20132396","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"key":"1615_CR53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"121025","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2025.121025","volume":"271","author":"T Hou","year":"2025","unstructured":"Hou T, Lu S, Shao J, Dong X, Yang Z, Yang Y, Yao D, Lin Y (2025) Assessment of planktonic community diversity and stability in lakes and reservoirs based on eDNA metabarcoding\u2014a case study of Minghu National Wetland Park, China. Environ Res 271:121025","journal-title":"Environ Res"},{"key":"1615_CR54","first-page":"117","volume":"16","author":"WD Hummon","year":"2008","unstructured":"Hummon WD (2008) Gastrotricha of the North Atlantic Ocean: 1. Twenty-four new and two redescribed species of Macrodasyida. Meiofauna Marina 16:117\u2013174","journal-title":"Meiofauna Marina"},{"key":"1615_CR55","unstructured":"Hummon WD (2010) Global distribution of marine Gastrotricha. Available at: http:\/\/www.gastrotricha.unimore.it\/checklist.htm:Global_distribution_of_marine_Gastrotricha.pdf. Accessed Jan 2025"},{"key":"1615_CR56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1093\/plankt\/23.7.671","volume":"23","author":"I Huskin","year":"2001","unstructured":"Huskin I, Anad\u00f3n R, Medina G, Head RN, Harris RP (2001) Mesozooplankton distribution and copepod grazing in the subtropical Atlantic near the Azores: influence of mesoscale structures. J Plankton Res 23:671\u2013691","journal-title":"J Plankton Res"},{"key":"1615_CR57","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2148-12-245","volume":"12","author":"KM J\u00f6rger","year":"2012","unstructured":"J\u00f6rger KM, Norenburg JL, Wilson NG, Schr\u00f6dl M (2012) Barcoding against a paradox? Combined molecular species delineations reveal multiple cryptic lineages in elusive meiofaunal sea slugs. BMC Evol Biol 12:1\u20138","journal-title":"BMC Evol Biol"},{"key":"1615_CR58","unstructured":"J\u00f6rger K, Alvaro N, Andrade LF, Araujo T, Aramayo V, Artois T, Ballentine W, Bergmeier F, Botelho A, Buckenmeyer A, Capucho AT, et al. (2021) MEIOZORES 2019\u2014exploring the marine meiofauna of the Azores. In: Proceedings of the Meiofauna Workshop Azores 2019. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):17\u201341"},{"key":"1615_CR59","first-page":"603","volume":"10","author":"SP Klink","year":"2015","unstructured":"Klink SP, Bergmeier FS, Neusser TP, J\u00f6rger KM (2015) Stranded on a lonely island: description of Dondersia (?) todtae sp. nov., the first shelf solenogaster (Mollusca, Aplacophora) from beach the Azores. Acoreana 10:603\u2013618","journal-title":"Acoreana"},{"key":"1615_CR60","first-page":"117","volume":"4","author":"H Kunz","year":"1983","unstructured":"Kunz H (1983) Harpacticoiden (Crustacea: Copepoda) aus dem litoral der Azoren. Arquipelago Ser Cienc Nat 4:117\u2013208","journal-title":"Arquipelago Ser Cienc Nat"},{"key":"1615_CR61","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"126005","DOI":"10.1016\/j.limno.2022.126005","volume":"126","author":"F Leasi","year":"2022","unstructured":"Leasi F, Cline J (2022) DNA metabarcoding reveals impacts of anthropogenic stressors on freshwater meiofauna. Limnologica 126:126005","journal-title":"Limnologica"},{"key":"1615_CR62","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e104385","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0104385","volume":"9","author":"F Leasi","year":"2014","unstructured":"Leasi F, Norenburg JL (2014) The necessity of DNA taxonomy to reveal cryptic diversity and spatial distribution of meiofauna, with a focus on Nemertea. PLoS ONE 9:e104385","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"1615_CR63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1381","DOI":"10.1111\/mec.13568","volume":"25","author":"F Leasi","year":"2016","unstructured":"Leasi F, Andrade SCDS, Norenburg J (2016) At least some meiofaunal species are not everywhere. Indication of geographic, ecological and geological barriers affecting the dispersion of species of Ototyphlonemertes (Nemertea, Hoplonemertea). Mol Ecol 25:1381\u20131397","journal-title":"Mol Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"112","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-018-0119-2","volume":"1","author":"F Leasi","year":"2018","unstructured":"Leasi F, Sevigny JL, Laflamme EM, Artois T, Curini-Galletti M, de Jesus Navarrete A, Di Domenico M, Goetz F, Hall JA, Hochberg R, J\u00f6rger KM, Jondelius U, Todaro MA, Wirshing HH, Norenburg JL, Thomas WK (2018) Biodiversity estimates and ecological interpretations of meiofaunal communities are biased by the taxonomic approach. Commun Biol 1:112","journal-title":"Commun Biol"},{"key":"1615_CR65","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107133","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2020.107133","volume":"121","author":"F Leasi","year":"2020","unstructured":"Leasi F, Sevigny JL, Hassett BT (2020) Meiofauna as a valuable bioindicator of climate change in the polar regions. Ecol Indic 121:107133","journal-title":"Ecol Indic"},{"key":"1615_CR66","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107133","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2020.107133","volume":"121","author":"F Leasi","year":"2021","unstructured":"Leasi F, Sevigny JL, Hassett BT (2021) Meiofauna as a valuable bioindicator of climate change in the polar regions. Ecol Indic 121:107133","journal-title":"Ecol Indic"},{"key":"1615_CR67","unstructured":"Lenth RV (2023) emmeans: estimated marginal means, aka least-squares means. R package version 1.8.6. Available at: https:\/\/CRAN.R-project.org\/package=emmeans. Accessed Jan 2025"},{"key":"1615_CR68","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11436","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0611525104","volume":"104","author":"CA Lozupone","year":"2007","unstructured":"Lozupone CA, Knight R (2007) Global patterns in bacterial diversity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:11436\u201311440","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"key":"1615_CR69","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.21105\/joss.03139","volume":"6","author":"D L\u00fcdecke","year":"2021","unstructured":"L\u00fcdecke D, Ben-Shachar MS, Patil I, Waggoner P, Makowski D (2021) Performance: an R package for assessment, comparison and testing of statistical models. J Open Source Softw 6:60","journal-title":"J Open Source Softw"},{"key":"1615_CR70","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e13997","DOI":"10.1111\/1755-0998.13997","volume":"24","author":"J-N Macher","year":"2024","unstructured":"Macher J-N, Mart\u00ednez A, \u00c7akir S, Cholley P-E, Christoforou E, Curini Galletti M, van Galen L, Garc\u00eda-Cobo M, Jondelius U, de Jong D, Leasi F et al (2024) Enhancing metabarcoding efficiency and ecological insights through integrated taxonomy and DNA reference barcoding: a case study on beach meiofauna. Mol Ecol Resour 24:e13997","journal-title":"Mol Ecol Resour"},{"key":"1615_CR71","first-page":"15","volume":"12","author":"E Marcus","year":"1959","unstructured":"Marcus E, Marcus E (1959) Turbellaria from Madeira and the Azores. Bol Mus Munic Funchal 12:15\u201342","journal-title":"Bol Mus Munic Funchal"},{"key":"1615_CR72","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e85794","DOI":"10.3897\/mbmg.6.85794","volume":"6","author":"JL Martin","year":"2022","unstructured":"Martin JL, Santi I, Pitta P, John U, Gypens N (2022) Towards quantitative metabarcoding of eukaryotic plankton: an approach to improve 18S rRNA gene copy number bias. Metabarcoding Metagenomics 6:e85794","journal-title":"Metabarcoding Metagenomics"},{"key":"1615_CR73","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-020-0912-6","volume":"3","author":"A Mart\u00ednez","year":"2020","unstructured":"Mart\u00ednez A, Eckert EM, Artois T, Careddu G, Casu M, Curini-Galletti M, Gazale V, Gobert S, Ivanenko VN, Jondelius U, Marzano M et al (2020) Human access impacts biodiversity of microscopic animals in sandy beaches. Commun Biol 3:175","journal-title":"Commun Biol"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR74","first-page":"125","volume":"11","author":"A Mart\u00ednez","year":"2021","unstructured":"Mart\u00ednez A, Peixoto AJM, Mikhlina A, Di Domenico M (2021) Interstitial annelids from the oceanic island of S\u00e3o Miguel (Azores, Portugal). A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):125\u2013139","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"key":"1615_CR75","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"449","DOI":"10.1038\/s42003-025-07888-1","volume":"8","author":"A Mart\u00ednez","year":"2025","unstructured":"Mart\u00ednez A, Bonaglia S, Di Domenico M, Fonseca G, Ingels J, J\u00f6rger K, Laumer C, Leasi F, Zeppilli D, Baldrighi E, Bik H et al (2025) Fundamental questions in meiofauna research highlight how small but ubiquitous animals can improve our understanding of nature. Commun Biol 8:449","journal-title":"Commun Biol"},{"key":"1615_CR76","unstructured":"Martinez Arbizu P (2020) PairwiseAdonis: pairwise multilevel comparison using adonis. R package version 0.4. Available at: https:\/\/github.com\/pmartinezarbizu\/pairwiseAdonis. Accessed Jan 2025"},{"key":"1615_CR77","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.3390\/d12030107","volume":"12","author":"A Mart\u00ednez-Arce","year":"2020","unstructured":"Mart\u00ednez-Arce A, De Jes\u00fas-Navarrete A, Leasi F (2020) DNA barcoding for delimitation of putative Mexican marine nematode species. Diversity 12:107","journal-title":"Diversity"},{"key":"1615_CR78","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mazurkiewicz M, Paw\u0142owska J, Barrenechea Angeles IA, Grzelak K, Deja K, Zaborska A, Pawlowski J, W\u0142odarska-Kowalczuk M (2024) Dramatic shift vs gradual change in macrofaunal and meiobenthic diversity along the Arctic glacial fjord suggested by morphology and sedimentary DNA metabarcoding. Available at: https:\/\/ssrn.com\/abstract=4711684. Accessed Jan 2025","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.4711684"},{"key":"1615_CR79","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1439-0485.1994.tb00053.x","volume":"15","author":"A McLachlan","year":"1994","unstructured":"McLachlan A, Turner I (1994) The interstitial environment of sandy beaches. Mar Ecol 15:177\u2013212","journal-title":"Mar Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR80","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1003531","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1003531","volume":"10","author":"PJ McMurdie","year":"2014","unstructured":"McMurdie PJ, Holmes S (2014) Waste not, want not: why rarefying microbiome data is inadmissible. PLoS Comput Biol 10:e1003531","journal-title":"PLoS Comput Biol"},{"key":"1615_CR81","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e107688","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0107688","volume":"9","author":"I Meyer-Wachsmuth","year":"2014","unstructured":"Meyer-Wachsmuth I, Curini Galletti M, Jondelius U (2014) Hyper-cryptic marine meiofauna: species complexes in Nemertodermatida. PLoS ONE 9:e107688","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"1615_CR82","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-32226-6_6","volume-title":"Volcanoes of the Azores: Revealing the geological secrets of the Central Northern Atlantic Islands","author":"JM Miranda","year":"2018","unstructured":"Miranda JM, Luis JF, Louren\u00e7o N (2018) The tectonic evolution of the Azores based on magnetic data. In: Kueppers U, Beier C (eds) Volcanoes of the Azores: Revealing the geological secrets of the Central Northern Atlantic Islands. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 89\u2013100"},{"key":"1615_CR83","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"150088","DOI":"10.1098\/rsos.150088","volume":"2","author":"M Miya","year":"2015","unstructured":"Miya M, Sato Y, Fukunaga T, Sado T, Poulsen JY, Sato K, Minamoto T, Yamamoto S, Yamanaka H, Araki H (2015) MiFish, a set of universal PCR primers for metabarcoding environmental DNA from fishes: detection of more than 230 subtropical marine species. R Soc Open Sci 2:150088","journal-title":"R Soc Open Sci"},{"key":"1615_CR84","first-page":"13","volume":"38","author":"B Morton","year":"2000","unstructured":"Morton B, Britton JC (2000) The origins of the coastal and marine flora and fauna of the Azores. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 38:13\u201384","journal-title":"Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR85","first-page":"103","volume":"11","author":"TP Neusser","year":"2021","unstructured":"Neusser TP, Bergmeier FS, Brenzinger B, Kohnert P, Egger C, Yap-Chiongco MK, Kocot K, Schr\u00f6dl M, J\u00f6rger KM (2021) Shallow-water interstitial malacofauna of the Azores. Proceedings of the Meiofauna Workshop Azores 2019. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):103\u2013123","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR86","first-page":"141","volume":"11","author":"JL Norenburg","year":"2021","unstructured":"Norenburg JL, Cherneva IA, Ellison CI, Goetz FE (2021) First report of mesopsammic Nemertea from the Azores. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):141\u2013150","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"key":"1615_CR87","unstructured":"Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Kindt R, Legendre P, Minchin PR, O\u2019Hara RB, Simpson GL, Solymos P, Stevens MHH, Wagner H (2013) Package \u2018vegan.\u2019 R Package Version 2(0\u20138):254"},{"key":"1615_CR88","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.1093\/mollus\/69.4.385","volume":"69","author":"A Okusu","year":"2003","unstructured":"Okusu A, Giribet G (2003) New 18S rRNA sequences from neomenioid aplacophorans and the possible origin of persistent exogenous contamination. J Molluscan Stud 69:385\u2013387","journal-title":"J Molluscan Stud"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR89","first-page":"177","volume":"11","author":"JC Pardo","year":"2021","unstructured":"Pardo JC, Araujo TQ, Capucho AT, Yap-Chiongco MK, Buckenmeyer A, Jondelius Y, Aramayo V, Bergmeier FS, Andrade LF, Cherneva I, Savchenko A et al (2021) Tiny animals do live in the sand: a report of meiofaunal focused active-learning activities to increase ocean literacy in primary-school children. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):177\u2013186","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"key":"1615_CR90","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1086\/BBLv227n2p93","volume":"227","author":"J Pawlowski","year":"2014","unstructured":"Pawlowski J, Lejzerowicz F, Esling P (2014) Next-generation environmental diversity surveys of foraminifera: preparing the future. Biol Bull 227:93\u2013106","journal-title":"Biol Bull"},{"key":"1615_CR91","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1295","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2018.05.002","volume":"637","author":"J Pawlowski","year":"2018","unstructured":"Pawlowski J, Kelly-Quinn M, Altermatt F, Apoth\u00e9loz-Perret-Gentil L, Beja P, Boggero A, Borja A, Bouchez A, Cordier T, Domaizon I, Feio MJ (2018) The future of biotic indices in the ecogenomic era: integrating (e)DNA metabarcoding in biological assessment of aquatic ecosystems. Sci Total Environ 637:1295\u20131310","journal-title":"Sci Total Environ"},{"key":"1615_CR92","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"519","DOI":"10.1002\/edn3.77","volume":"2","author":"TJ Pereira","year":"2020","unstructured":"Pereira TJ, De Santiago A, Schuelke T, Hardy SM, Bik HM (2020) The impact of intragenomic rRNA variation on metabarcoding-derived diversity estimates: a case study from marine nematodes. Environ DNA 2:519\u2013533","journal-title":"Environ DNA"},{"key":"1615_CR93","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e17733","DOI":"10.1111\/mec.17733","volume":"34","author":"M Pichler","year":"2025","unstructured":"Pichler M, Creer S, Mart\u00ednez A, Fontaneto D, Renema W, Macher JN (2025) Metacommunity theory and metabarcoding reveal the environmental, spatial and biotic drivers of meiofaunal communities in sandy beaches. Mol Ecol 34:e17733","journal-title":"Mol Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR94","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7188","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkm864","volume":"35","author":"E Pruesse","year":"2007","unstructured":"Pruesse E, Quast C, Knittel K, Fuchs B, Ludwig W, Peplies J, Glockner FO (2007) SILVA: a comprehensive online resource for quality-checked and aligned ribosomal RNA sequence data compatible with ARB. Nucleic Acids Res 35:7188\u20137196","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res"},{"key":"1615_CR95","unstructured":"Core Team (2021) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available at: https:\/\/www.R-project.org\/. Accessed Jan 2025"},{"key":"1615_CR96","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"372","DOI":"10.1130\/B31538.1","volume":"129","author":"RS Ramalho","year":"2017","unstructured":"Ramalho RS, Helffrich G, Madeira J, Cosca M, Thomas C, Quartau R, Hip\u00f3lito A, Rovere A, Hearty PJ, \u00c1vila SP (2017) Emergence and evolution of Santa Maria Island (Azores)\u2014the conundrum of uplifted islands revisited. GSA Bull 129:372\u2013390","journal-title":"GSA Bull"},{"key":"1615_CR97","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1016\/j.quascirev.2017.01.021","volume":"159","author":"V Rull","year":"2017","unstructured":"Rull V, Lara A, Rubio-Ingl\u00e9s MJ, Giralt S, Gon\u00e7alves V, Raposeiro P, Hern\u00e1ndez A, S\u00e1nchez-L\u00f3pez G, V\u00e1zquez-Loureiro D, Bao R (2017) Vegetation and landscape dynamics under natural and anthropogenic forcing on the Azores Islands: a 700-year pollen record from S\u00e3o Miguel Island. Quat Sci Rev 159:155\u2013168","journal-title":"Quat Sci Rev"},{"key":"1615_CR98","first-page":"473","volume":"16","author":"FD Santos","year":"2004","unstructured":"Santos FD, Valente MA, Miranda PMA, Aguiar A, Azevedo EB, Tom\u00e9 AR, Coelho F (2004) Climate change scenarios in the Azores and Madeira Islands. World Resour Rev 16:473\u2013491","journal-title":"World Resour Rev"},{"key":"1615_CR99","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1345","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2699.2011.02494.x","volume":"38","author":"H Schaefer","year":"2011","unstructured":"Schaefer H, Moura M, Belo Maciel MG, Silva L, Rumsey FJ, Carine MA (2011) The linnean shortfall in oceanic island biogeography: a case study in the Azores. J Biogeogr 38:1345\u20131355","journal-title":"J Biogeogr"},{"key":"1615_CR100","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"R97","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2017.11.042","volume":"28","author":"B Schierwater","year":"2018","unstructured":"Schierwater B, DeSalle R (2018) Placozoa. Curr Biol 28:R97\u2013R98","journal-title":"Curr Biol"},{"key":"1615_CR101","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jembe.2017.01.007","volume":"502","author":"M Schratzberger","year":"2017","unstructured":"Schratzberger M, Ingels J (2017) Meiofauna matters: the roles of meiofauna in benthic ecosystems. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 502:12\u201325","journal-title":"J Exp Mar Biol Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR102","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e01325","DOI":"10.1002\/ecm.1325","volume":"89","author":"MJ Silberberger","year":"2019","unstructured":"Silberberger MJ, Renaud PE, Buhl-Mortensen L, Ellingsen IH, Reiss H (2019) Spatial patterns in sub-Arctic benthos: multiscale analysis reveals structural differences between community components. Ecol Monogr 89:e01325","journal-title":"Ecol Monogr"},{"key":"1615_CR103","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-294X.2009.04480.x","volume":"19","author":"T Stoeck","year":"2010","unstructured":"Stoeck T, Bass D, Nebel M, Christen R, Jones MDM, Breiner H-W, Richards TA (2010) Multiple marker parallel tag environmental DNA sequencing reveals a highly complex eukaryotic community in marine anoxic water. Mol Ecol 19:21\u201331","journal-title":"Mol Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR104","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tang CQ, Leasi F, Obertegger U, Kieneke A, Barraclough TG, Fontaneto D (2012) The widely used small subunit 18S rDNA molecule greatly underestimates true diversity in biodiversity surveys of the meiofauna. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA\u00a0","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1209160109"},{"issue":"Supl","key":"1615_CR105","first-page":"97","volume":"11","author":"L T\u00f6dter","year":"2021","unstructured":"T\u00f6dter L, Schmidt-Rhaesa A (2021) First record of Halammohydra (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) on the Azores. A\u00e7oreana 11(Supl):97\u2013102","journal-title":"A\u00e7oreana"},{"key":"1615_CR106","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"329","DOI":"10.1111\/maec.12281","volume":"37","author":"TC van Son","year":"2016","unstructured":"van Son TC, Halvorsen R, Bakke T (2016) Sampling effort required to recover the main gradients in marine benthic species composition. Mar Ecol 37:329\u2013335","journal-title":"Mar Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR107","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1186\/s12898-019-0244-x","volume":"19","author":"BJ Vause","year":"2019","unstructured":"Vause BJ, Morley SA, Fonseca VG, Ja\u017cd\u017cewska A, Ashton GV, Barnes DK, Giebner H, Clark MS, Peck LS (2019) Spatial and temporal dynamics of Antarctic shallow soft-bottom benthic communities: ecological drivers under climate change. BMC Ecol 19:27","journal-title":"BMC Ecol"},{"key":"1615_CR108","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-21706-2","volume-title":"Modern applied statistics with S","author":"WN Venables","year":"2002","unstructured":"Venables WN, Ripley BD (2002) Modern applied statistics with S. Springer, New York"},{"key":"1615_CR109","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"110223","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2023.110223","volume":"150","author":"M Wang","year":"2023","unstructured":"Wang M, Yergaliyev T, Sun C, Martinez JG, Wang B (2023) Environmental DNA metabarcoding of intertidal meiofauna sheds light on its potential for habitat discovery. Ecol Indic 150:110223","journal-title":"Ecol Indic"},{"key":"1615_CR110","unstructured":"Wells FE (1995) An investigation of marine invertebrate communities in the sediments of Ilh\u00e9u de Vila Franca off the island of S\u00e3o Miguel, Azores. In: The Marine Fauna and Flora of the Azores (Proceedings of the Second International Workshop of Malacology and Marine Biology, S\u00e3o Miguel, 1991). A\u00e7oreana 4(Supl):57\u201365"},{"key":"1615_CR111","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1086\/622910","volume":"30","author":"CK Wentworth","year":"1922","unstructured":"Wentworth CK (1922) A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. J Geol 30:377\u2013392","journal-title":"J Geol"},{"key":"1615_CR112","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"eaam8326","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aam8326","volume":"357","author":"RJ Whittaker","year":"2017","unstructured":"Whittaker RJ, Fern\u00e1ndez-Palacios JM, Matthews TJ, Borregaard MK, Triantis KA (2017) Island biogeography: taking the long view of nature\u2019s laboratories. Science 357:eaam8326","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"1615_CR113","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.3390\/d13020077","volume":"13","author":"K Worsaae","year":"2021","unstructured":"Worsaae K, Kerbl A, Di Domenico M, Gonzalez BC, Bekkouche N, Mart\u00ednez A (2021) Interstitial annelida. Diversity (Basel) 13:77","journal-title":"Diversity (Basel)"},{"key":"1615_CR114","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0131498","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0131498","volume":"10","author":"S Wu","year":"2015","unstructured":"Wu S, Xiong J, Yu Y (2015) Taxonomic resolutions based on 18S rRNA genes: a case study of subclass copepoda. PLoS ONE 10:e0131498","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"1615_CR115","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1016\/j.dsr2.2013.08.009","volume":"98","author":"D Zeppilli","year":"2013","unstructured":"Zeppilli D, Bongiorni L, Cattaneo A, Danovaro R, Santos RS (2013) Meiofauna assemblages of the Condor Seamount (North-East Atlantic Ocean) and adjacent deep-sea sediments. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 98:87\u2013100","journal-title":"Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography"},{"key":"1615_CR116","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e115601","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0115601","volume":"9","author":"D Zeppilli","year":"2014","unstructured":"Zeppilli D, Bongiorni L, Serr\u00e3o Santos R, Vanreusel A (2014) Changes in nematode communities in different physiographic sites of the Condor Seamount (North-East Atlantic Ocean) and adjacent sediments. PLoS ONE 9:e115601","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"}],"container-title":["Marine Biodiversity"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s12526-025-01615-z.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s12526-025-01615-z","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s12526-025-01615-z.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T14:02:25Z","timestamp":1773324145000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1007\/s12526-025-01615-z"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]},"references-count":116,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["1615"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12526-025-01615-z","relation":{},"ISSN":["1867-1616","1867-1624"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1867-1616","type":"print"},{"value":"1867-1624","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,17]]},"assertion":[{"value":"15 May 2025","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"29 October 2025","order":2,"name":"revised","label":"Revised","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"26 November 2025","order":3,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"17 December 2025","order":4,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Conflict of interest"}},{"value":"All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements, if applicable. The study is compliant with CBD and Nagoya protocols. No approval of research ethics committees was required to accomplish the goals of this study because experimental work was conducted with an unregulated invertebrate species.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Sampling and field studies"}},{"value":"All data files can be found here:\n                      \n                      .\u00a0Raw sequences obtained with DNA metabarcoding have been deposited in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive under BioProject\u00a0accession PRJNA1347756.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Data availability"}},{"value":"All authors contributed to the writing and approved the final version of the manuscript. All authors who participated in the Azores morphological workshop contributed to sampling. FL: conceptualization, formal analysis, visualization, writing\u2014original draft, writing\u2014review and editing. DF: conceptualization, writing\u2014review and editing. JKM: funding acquisition, investigation (grain size analysis). TPN: investigation (grain size analysis).","order":5,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Author contribution"}}],"article-number":"6"}}