Nikolai N. Smirnov is Principal Scientist at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the Laboratory of Aquatic Communities and Invasions. His principal research interests include morphology, systematics, and other aspects of the biology of Cladocera, and he has had experience in this field for more than 40 years. He is the editor of the English-language edition of Journal of Ichthyology and head of the Advisory Committee for Arthropoda Selecta, and has traveled extensively across four continents conducting zoological research.