copepod
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈkoʊpəˌpɒd/
- Specialized
:
copépodo
- For newly hatched young, the food of choice is zooplankton—microscopic animals such as daphnids and copepods that live in the water.
- copepod abundance
Examples
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We collected three species of parasitic copepods from the 275 cm male shark and the 391 cm female shark.
Academic text (1994) -
The copepod Tigriopus californicus lives in high intertidal rock pools along the Pacific coast of North America.
Academic text (2009) -
The first thing we see and in here we have at very high magnification the surface of a copepod looking straight down.
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The most common animals here are copepods and krill.
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This is the common copepod worldwide called Tigrioppus californicus.
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But small copepods are not nutritionally satisfying to larger fish and seabirds.
Academic text (2011) -
Concurrent studies of pollock found the young of the year initially feed on the small copepods, but as they grow, they require larger zooplankton, which are scarce in warm water.
Academic text (2011) -
These phytoplankton then become food for countless microscopic grazers, including copepods and krill, which in turn feed a huge swath of marine life.
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Most prey species identified from bowhead whale stomach contents were crustacean zooplankton, particularly euphausiids and copepods ranging in length from 3 to 30 mm.
Academic text (1995) -
In the marine ecosystem, copepods are essential as they serve as a primary food source for many fish.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Copepod comes from Greek parts cope- meaning 'oar' and -pod meaning 'foot', and the -pod part is the same as in tripod which means 'three-foot'. So, a copepod is an 'oar-foot', a tiny water animal whose paddle-like legs act like little oars to help it swim.