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Microfauna (from Ancient Greek mikros 'small' and from Latin fauna 'animal') are microscopic animals and organisms that exhibit animal-like qualities and have body sizes that are usually <0.1mm. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Microfauna are represented in the animal kingdom (e.g. nematodes , small arthropods ) and the protist kingdom (i.e. protozoans ).
About 90% of nematodes reside in the top 15 cm (6") of soil. Nematodes do not decompose organic matter, but, instead, are parasitic and free-living organisms that feed on living material. Nematodes can effectively regulate bacterial population and community composition—they may eat up to 5,000 bacteria per minute.
Tardigrades (/ ˈ t ɑːr d ɪ ɡ r eɪ d z / ⓘ), [1] known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, [2] are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbär ' little water bear ' .
Tardigrades sometimes eat nematodes, and vice versa, but in this case the baby water bear just needed to hitch a ride. Skip to main content. 24/7 Help. For premium support please call: 800-290 ...
Milnesium alpigenum is a species of tardigrade that falls under the Tardigrada phylum. Like its taxonomic relatives it is an omnivorous predator that feeds on other small organisms, such as algae, rotifers, and nematodes. [1] M. alpigenum was discovered by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1853. [2]
It also has some of the same organ systems as larger animals. About one in a thousand individuals is male and the rest are hermaphrodites. [19] The basic anatomy of C. elegans includes a mouth, pharynx, intestine, gonad, and collagenous cuticle. Like all nematodes, they have neither a circulatory nor a respiratory system.
Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematode, RKN), also known as the southern root-nematode or cotton root-knot nematode is a plant-parasitic roundworm in the family Heteroderidae. This nematode is one of the four most common species worldwide and has numerous hosts. It typically incites large, usually irregular galls on roots as a result of ...
Living among the mats are bacteria, yeasts, molds, and an array of microscopic invertebrates that feed on microbes, algae, and detritus: nematodes, protozoa, rotifers, tardigrades, and occasionally, mites and springtails. [4] Even simpler communities exist in the arid soils that occupy the majority of the landscape. [3]