Copepods are among the most abundant multi-celled organisms on
Earth and can literally be found everywhere there is (even not so
much) water. This very diverse group of small (typically in the
1-10 mm range) crustaceans -- known for more than two millennia --
exhibit a range of free living forms, either in the open water or
in various types of sediments. They are also often found as both
internal and external parasites of most phyla of animals in water.
Copepods also play a fundamental ecological role in the open waters
of lakes, rivers, estuaries and oceans. They are the classical
herbivorous link between the primary production of phytoplankton
and the larvae and juveniles of fishes -- hence ultimately whales
and fisheries -- in most pelagic ecosystems. In oligotrophic
waters, copepods also play an essential role in transferring (i)
the organic carbon released by phytoplankton (ie: up to 50% of the
carbon fixed through photosynthesis) and subsequently assimilated
by heterotrophic bacteria, and (ii) the inorganic carbon fixed by
prokaryotic and eukaryotic picoplankton (ie: up to 70 % of the
carbon fixation in oligotrophic systems) towards higher trophic
levels through copepod grazing on microzooplankton (ie:
heterotrophic flagellates and ciliated protozoans).
General
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