Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic, some are benthic, a number of species have parasitic phases, and some continental species may live in limnoterrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds, puddles, damp moss, or water-filled recesses of plants (phytotelmata) such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Many live underground in marine and freshwater caves, sinkholes, or stream beds. Copepods are sometimes used as biodiversity indicators.
Harpacticoida is an order of copepods, in the subphylum Crustacea. This order comprises 463 genera and about 3,000 species; its members are benthic copepods found throughout the world in the marine environment and in fresh water. A few of them are planktonic or live in association with other organisms. Harpacticoida represents the second-largest meiofaunal group in marine sediments, after nematodes. In Arctic and Antarctic seas, Harpacticoida are common inhabitants of sea ice. The name Harpacticoida comes from the Greek noun harpacticon and the suffix -oid and means reminiscent of a predator.
The Cyclopoida are an order of small crustaceans from the subclass Copepoda. Like many other copepods, members of Cyclopoida are small, planktonic animals living both in the sea and in freshwater habitats. They are capable of rapid movement. Their larval development is metamorphic, and the embryos are carried in paired or single sacs attached to first abdominal somite.
The organ pipe coral is an alcyonarian octocoral native to the waters of the Indian Ocean and the central and western regions of the Pacific Ocean. It is the only known species of the genus Tubipora. This species is a soft coral but with a unique, hard skeleton of calcium carbonate that contains many organ pipe-like tubes. On each tube is a series of polyps which each have eight feather-like tentacles. These tentacles are usually extended during the day, but will swiftly withdraw with any sort of disturbance. The skeleton is a bright red color, but is typically obscured by numerous polyps. Because of this, living colonies are typically green, blue, or purple due to the color of the expanded polyps. Colonies are typically dome-shaped and can reach up to 3 meters across, while the individual polyps are typically less than 3 mm wide and a few mm long. They are close relatives to other soft coral and sea fans. This species is a popular aquarium coral due to its ease to maintain, as well as higher tolerance compared to most true corals. However, its popularity presents a problem: along with its potential as an aquarium coral, the species' coloration makes it a popular commodity for tourists, leading to a variety of threats to the population.
Phytotelma is a small water-filled cavity in a terrestrial plant. The water accumulated within these plants may serve as the habitat for associated fauna and flora.
Monstrilloida is an order of copepods with a cosmopolitan distribution in the world's oceans. The order contains a single family, Monstrillidae. The name of the first ever described genus Monstrilla is derived from latin, meaning "tiny monster", because the lack of usual diagnostic features of copepods puzzled early taxonomists.
Acartia hudsonica is a species of marine copepod belonging to the family Acartiidae. Acartia hudsonica is a coastal, cold water species that can be found along the northwest Atlantic coast.
Cyclops bicuspidatus is a planktonic species of copepod found throughout the world, except Australia, and characteristic of the Great Lakes of North America. It is a deep water species found throughout the year with peak abundance occurring in May or June. Males grow up to 0.8–1.0 millimetre (0.031–0.039 in) long, while females are larger at 0.9–1.6 mm (0.035–0.063 in).
A marine habitat is a habitat that supports marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea. A habitat is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by one or more living species. The marine environment supports many kinds of these habitats.
A mesophotic coral reef or mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCE), originally from the Latin word meso (meaning middle) and photic (meaning light), is characterized by the presence of both light-dependent coral and algae, and organisms that can be found in water with low light penetration. Mesophotic coral ecosystems occur at depths beyond those typically associated with coral reefs as the mesophotic ranges from brightly lit to some areas where light does not reach. Mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCEs) is a new, widely-adopted term used to refer to mesophotic coral reefs, as opposed to other similar terms like "deep coral reef communities" and "twilight zone", since those terms sometimes are confused due to their unclear, interchangeable nature. Many species of fish and corals are endemic to the MCEs making these ecosystems a crucial component in maintaining global diversity. Recently, there has been increased focus on the MCEs as these reefs are a crucial part of the coral reef systems serving as a potential refuge area for shallow coral reef taxa such as coral and sponges. Advances in recent technologies such as remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have enabled humans to conduct further research on these ecosystems and monitor these marine environments.
Tigriopus brevicornis is a coastal marine copepod. They are a dominant member of shallow supra tidal rock pools along the North Western European coastline. A broad range of studies have been carried out on this species, including: its ecology, physiology, phylogeography, metapopulation genetics, development and reproductive behaviour. T. brevicornis has also recently been used in ecotoxicology studies and has been trialled as a live feed for larvae in several aquaculture-based studies for the past 30 years.
Mildred Stratton Wilson was an American zoologist, whose work on copepods was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1955.
Calanus propinquus is a copepod found in Antarctica, and the surrounding waters.
Neocalanus plumchrus is a large species of copepod found in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. It was described in 1921 H. by Marukawa. N. flemingeri was formerly considered as conspecific, likely as a form, until it was split in 1988 by Charles B. Miller.
Neocalanus cristatus is a species of copepod found primarily in the northern Pacific.
Pseudocalanus newmani is a copepod found in Arctic and northern Pacific waters. It was described by Frost in 1989. It is found in the Arctic and surrounding waters. There are multiple generations. Unlike some copepods, P. newmani undergoes reverse diel vertical migration, descending during the night, and ascending during the day, although it may undergo normal or no migration at all depending on predation. This copepod is primarily herbivorous.
Calanus sinicus is a copepod found in the northwest Pacific.
Rhincalanus nasutus is a copepod in the family Rhincalanidae.
Bryocyclops is a genus of freshwater-dwelling cyclopoid copepods. The epithet Bryo- for Bryophyta (Mosses) refers to the fact that the first few species were described from mosses.
Ann Bucklin is Professor Emeritus of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut known for her work using molecular tools to study zooplankton. Bucklin was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1995.
