Fauna
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Fauna(pl.:faunaeorfaunas) is all of theanimallife present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms forplantsandfungiarefloraandfunga,respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to asbiota.Zoologistsandpaleontologistsusefaunato refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desertfauna "or the"Burgess Shalefauna ".Paleontologistssometimes refer to a sequence offaunal stages,which is a series of rocks all containing similar fossils. The study of animals of a particular region is calledfaunistics.
Etymology
[edit]Faunacomes from the nameFauna,a Roman goddess of earth and fertility, the Roman godFaunus,and the related forest spirits calledFauns.All three words are cognates of the name of the Greek godPan,andpanisis theModern Greekequivalent of fauna (πανίς or rather πανίδα).Faunais also the word for a book that catalogues the animals in such a manner. The term was first used byCarl Linnaeusfrom Sweden in the title of his 1745[1]workFauna Suecica.
Subdivisions on the basis of region
[edit]Cryofauna
[edit]Cryofaunarefers to the animals that live in, or very close to, cold areas.
Cryptofauna
[edit]Cryptofaunais the fauna that exists in protected or concealedmicrohabitats.[2]
Epifauna
[edit]Epifauna, also calledepibenthos,are aquatic animals that live on the bottom substratum as opposed to within it, that is, thebenthicfauna that live on top of the sediment surface at the seafloor.
Infauna
[edit]Infaunaarebenthicorganisms that live within the bottom substratum of a water body, especially within the bottom-most oceanic sediments, the layer of small particles at the bottom of a body of water, rather than on its surface.Bacteriaandmicroalgaemay also live in the interstices of bottom sediments. In general, infaunal animals become progressively smaller and less abundant with increasing water depth and distance from shore, whereas bacteria show more constancy in abundance, tending toward one million cells per milliliter of interstitial seawater.
Such creatures are found in the fossil record and includelingulata,trilobitesandworms.They made burrows in the sediment as protection and may also have fed upon detritus or the mat of microbes which tended to grow on the surface of the sediment.[3]Today, a variety of organisms live in anddisturb the sediment.The deepest burrowers are the ghost shrimps (Thalassinidea), which go as deep as 3 metres (10 ft) into the sediment at the bottom of the ocean.[4]
Limnofauna
[edit]Limnofaunarefers to the animals that live in fresh water.
Macrofauna
[edit]Macrofaunaarebenthicor soil organisms which are retained on a 0.5 mm sieve. Studies in the deep sea define macrofauna as animals retained on a 0.3 mm sieve to account for the small size of many of the taxa.
Megafauna
[edit]
Megafaunaare large animals of any particular region or time. For example,Australian megafauna.
Meiofauna
[edit]Meiofaunaare smallbenthicinvertebratesthat live in both marine and freshwaterenvironments.The termmeiofaunaloosely defines a group oforganismsby their size, larger than microfauna but smaller than macrofauna, rather than a taxonomic grouping. One environment for meiofauna is between grains of damp sand (seeMystacocarida).
In practice these are metazoan animals that can pass unharmed through a 0.5–1 mmmeshbut will be retained by a 30–45 μm mesh,[5]but the exact dimensions will vary fromresearcherto researcher. Whether an organism passes through a 1 mm mesh also depends upon whether it is alive or dead at the time of sorting.
Mesofauna
[edit]Mesofaunaare macroscopic soil animals such asarthropodsornematodes.Mesofauna are extremely diverse; considering just the springtails (Collembola), as of 1998, approximately 6,500 species had been identified.[6]
Microfauna
[edit]Microfauna are microscopic or very small animals (usually includingprotozoansand very small animals such asrotifers). To qualify as microfauna, an organism must exhibit animal-like characteristics, as opposed tomicroflora,which are more plant-like.
Stygofauna
[edit]Stygofauna is any fauna that lives ingroundwatersystems or aquifers, such ascaves,fissures andvugs.Stygofauna andtroglofaunaare the two types ofsubterranean fauna(based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – stygofauna is associated with water, and troglofauna with caves and spaces above thewater table.Stygofauna can live within freshwateraquifersand within theporespaces oflimestone,calcreteorlaterite,whilst larger animals can be found in cave waters and wells. Stygofaunal animals, like troglofauna, are divided into three groups based on their life history - stygophiles, stygoxenes, and stygobites.[7]
Troglofauna
[edit]
Troglofauna are smallcave-dwellinganimalsthat haveadaptedto their dark surroundings. Troglofauna andstygofaunaare the two types ofsubterranean fauna(based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – troglofauna is associated with caves and spaces above the water table and stygofauna with water. Troglofaunal species includespiders,insects,myriapodsand others. Some troglofauna live permanently underground and cannot survive outside the cave environment. Troglofauna adaptations and characteristics include a heightened sense of hearing, touch and smell.[8]Loss of under-used senses is apparent in the lack of pigmentation as well as eyesight in most troglofauna. Troglofauna insects may exhibit a lack ofwingsand longerappendages.
Xenofauna
[edit]Xenofauna,theoretically,arealienorganisms that can be described asanimal analogues.While no alien life forms, animal-like or otherwise, are known definitively, the concept of alien life remains a subject of great interest in fields likeastronomy,astrobiology,biochemistry,evolutionary biology,science fiction,andphilosophy.
Other
[edit]
Other terms includeavifauna,which means "birdfauna "andpiscifauna(orichthyofauna), which means "fishfauna ".
Treatises
[edit]Classic faunas
[edit]- Linnaeus, Carolus.Fauna Suecica.1746
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Linnaeus
- ^NCRI
- ^ Infauna organisms in hydrothermal environments have developed adaptive strategies to survive harsh conditions, such as extreme temperatures, low pH levels, and reduced salinity. They constructed galleries, with the highest abundance in H1, and the dominant classes, Malacostraca and Polychaeta, demonstrating mobility-based strategies like burrowing or crawling. These strategies help infauna cope with hydrothermal influence.” (Rodriguez Uribe 2023). hydrothermal influence refers to the transformative effects of hot water on geological, chemical, and biological systems, and it plays a significant role in a wide range of natural processes and human activities. Vermeij, Geerat (2009),Nature: An Economic History,Princeton University Press,ISBN9781400826490.p. 266
- ^Vermeij, Geerat (2009),Nature: An Economic History,Princeton University Press,ISBN9781400826490.p. 267
- ^Fauna of Sandy Beaches
- ^Josef Rusek (1998). "Biodiversity of Collembola and their functional role in the ecosystem".Biodiversity and Conservation.7(9): 1207–1219.doi:10.1023/A:1008887817883.S2CID22883809.
- ^Rubens M. Lopes, Janet Warner Reid, Carlos Eduardo Falavigna Da Rocha (1999)."Copepoda: developments in ecology, biology and systematics: proceedings of the Seventh international conference on Copepoda, held in Curitiba".Hydrobiologia.453/454. Springer: 576.ISBN9780792370482.
{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^Phil Chapman (1982)."The Origins of Troglobites"(PDF).Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelæological Society.16(2): 133–141.
External links
[edit]
- "Biodiversity of Collembola and their functional role in the ecosystem"(by Josef Rusek; September 1998)
