Danger? Then cut and run! Copepods can vault themselves half a metre forward within a split second with just one single movement. Therefore, scientists consider them at least ten times as strong as other animals.
But nonetheless, they often end up in hungry mouths: Copepods make a popular fast food meal for fish and fish larvae. According to experiments by BIOACID scientists, rising temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations might alter the composition of fatty acids in the animals’ bodies. Food webs which are influenced by the food quality – not by the sheer mass of supplies – would be deteriorated.
Photo: Solvin Zankl