Copepods are aquatic crustaceans, smaller relatives of the crabs and lobsters. In terms of their size, abundance and diversity of way of life, they can be regarded as the insects of the seas.
Copepods have colonised virtually every habitat from 10,000 metres down in the deep sea to lakes 5,000 metres up in the Himalayas, and every temperature regime from subzero polar waters to hot springs. They are by far the most dominant animal group in the marine plankton (on which the oceanic food chains depend) and often in freshwater plankton. These minute arthropods inhabit all types of marine sediments - from sand to fine mud and ooze - and can even be found on land in damp moss and in subterranean habitats, such as caves and groundwater. This variety of free-living forms is only part of the copepod success story, since they have also become parasites of almost every major animal group from sponges and corals to fish and mammals. Copepod's that parasitize fish skin and gills, for example, are serious pests of commercial importance in both marine and freshwater fish farms.
No overview of this diversity exists and problems abound with the identification of copepods from the UK and abroad. Relying heavily on the collections and the library resources, scientists at the Museum are approaching completion of a massive synthesis of all 200 or more families and over 1,600 genera of copepods. To be published initially as a book, the information is held on a computer database which will be updated and marketed at a future date. By drawing this information together in one source, it will be easily accessible. The work is designed to allow the initial identification, at least to genus, of any species of copepod from any habitat anywhere in the world.
Illustrations
For further information contact:
Dr. Geoff Boxshall,
The Natural History Museum,
Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 171 938 9489 Fax: +44 (0) 171 938 9158
E-mail: Geoff Boxshall gab@nhm.ac.uk
