The International Meiofauna Conferences have always been an important venue for academics, early stage researchers and students for networking, communicating their newest research lines and meeting with colleagues and friends from across the world. IςIMCo is no exception and will follow the tradition of previous conferences with a single main hall and no parallel sessions. The themes of the conference will reflect the main areas in which meiobenthology is developing at present, but will also include traditional research topics.

We have identified four key research areas:

1. The role of meiobenthos on ecosystem function

This topic may include all papers related to the role of meiofauna in aquatic systems, particularly those investigating the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

2. Taxonomy, systematics and evolution of meiobenthos

This topic may include contributions using traditional taxonomy and systematics of meiofauna taxa; however, emphasis will be given on advanced and emerging technologies such as molecular taxonomy, next-generation sequencing, etc.

3. The use of meiobenthos on the assessment of environmental impacts

This topic may include studies in which meiobenthos is used as a tool for the detection and monitoring of man's impact on aquatic systems.

4. The response of meiobenthos to environmental changes

This topic may include studies on species distribution and dispersal, spatial and temporal variability, habitat connectivity, etc.