This is a beginner's key to freshwater meiofauna (small animals that live in or around sediments and vegetation in lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers, and was written to accompany Palmer, M.A., D.L. Strayer, and S.D. Rundle. 2005. Meiofauna. In: F.R. Hauer and G.A. Lamberti (eds.). Stream ecology: field and laboratory exercises. Second edition. Academic Press. It is intended to be easy and practical to use, but will not be 100% accurate, and should not be used for research purposes. Research-grade keys can be found in Thorp, J.H., and A.P. Covich (editors). 2001. Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. Second edition. Academic Press., or D.G. Smith. 2001. Pennak's freshwater invertebrates of the United States. Fourth edition. John Wiley. These books also provide good introductions to the biology and ecology of the freshwater meiofauna; other useful introductory references to the biology and ecology of these animals are Giere, O. 1993. Meiobenthology. Springer., and S.D. Rundle, A.L. Robertson, and J.M. Schmid-Aray (editors). 2002. Freshwater meiofauna: biology and ecology. Backhuys.

I very much appreciate the kindness of the following photographers, who let me use their beautiful photographs in this key: Amanda Arnold (flatworm), Tom Bird and the Biologica Environmental Services Ltd. (oligochaete), Mark Blaxter (tardigrade), Ana Camacho (bathynellacean), Walter Dioni (Aeolosoma), Jerry Evans (the cladoceran Pleuroxus), John Havel (harpacticoid copepod), Kyosuke Ikuta (ostracod), Heike Kappes (the cladoceran Alonella), Nancy Koklais-Burelle (nematode), Matthew Meselson (bdelloid rotifer), Dave Penrose (chironomids), Jorge Rey and Sheila O'Connell of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (cyclopoid copepod), Wim van Egmond (water mite; see http://www1.tip.nl/~t936927/home.html for additional images) These images are protected by copyright - please respect the rights of the original photographers and do not copy or distribute them.

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David Strayer
Institute of Ecosystem Studies
July 2005