This project investigates the importance of (a) vertical (predation and food availability) and (b) horizontal (competition, facilitation…) interactions for meiobenthic community assembly. It also investigates how meiofauna affect bacterial community structure, diversity and metabolism, and benthic ecosystem functions like organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling. The focus is on top-down effects and trophic cascades from predators over bacterivores to bacteria.