What are copepods?

Copepods are another group of small crustaceans which live in the sea. They are better swimmers than the freshwater water fleas and use their legs as well as their antennae to propel themselves through the water. Copepods drift in enormous numbers in the upper levels of the sea. Together with other minute creatures they form plankton on which all other higher animals feed, either directly or indirectly. Thus they are a very important link in the food chain that ends with man himself.