Weekend #Plankton Factoid 🦠🦐
Mating by copepods is a complicated process since they are always at risk of predation by other plankton or fishes. Male #copepods carefully mechanically and chemically track a receptive female, capture them, and deposit an adhesive spermatophore near the genital opening, all assisted with their specially modified antennae. The "bent" geniculate antenna in Calanoids are usually characteristic for identification.
#science #zooplankton