Copepods are people, too
Celebrating the often unseen, unappreciated parts of our natural world. With copepods!
Copepods are tiny crustaceans (related to crabs, prawns and lobsters) commonly found throughout the world's oceans. There are over 13,000 species of copepod. They are also found in freshwater and in wet environments on land (like under leaf litter). The copepods featured here are calanoid copepods, which have very long antennae and an obvious eyespot. Calanoid copepods are from one of the three major groups of marine copepods that float around in the water. That is, they are a part of the marine plankton. Plankton are a group of organisms living in water that have limited ability to propel themselves. Marine plankton play very important roles in nutrient cycling, food webs and the marine carbon sink. Long live plankton!
