copepod

Thân thiện

A single copepod swims among green plankton in a drop of seawater.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A minute marine or freshwater crustacean, typically having six pairs of limbs on the thorax. Many species are abundant components of plankton, while others are parasitic on fish.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Copepods are a crucial food source for many small fish and whales.
  • The scientist studied a parasitic copepod attached to the salmon's gills.
  • A single drop of pond water may contain numerous copepods.

Advanced Usage

• "Calanoid copepod": A common order of free-swimming, planktonic copepods.
  • Calanoid copepods are often the dominant zooplankton in marine ecosystems.
• "Cyclopoid copepod": An order of copepods common in both freshwater and marine habitats.
  • The cyclopoid copepod was observed darting through the water sample.

Variants and Related Words

• Copepodite (n): A juvenile stage in the life cycle of a copepod.
• Copepodology (n): The branch of zoology that deals with the study of copepods.

Synonyms

• Planktonic crustacean (for free-living species)
• Fish louse (colloquial for some parasitic species)

Related Phrases

• "Copepod nauplius": The first larval stage of a copepod.
  • The copepod nauplius has a simple, unsegmented body.

Học thuật

Noun

1. minute marine or freshwater crustaceans usually having six pairs of limbs on the thorax; some abundant in plankton and others parasitic on fish

Từ đồng nghĩa

• copepod crustacean