A copepod waves hello

May 07, 2018 • 4:08 PM UTC

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Microorganisms

Honomi Ijima

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Hi Foldscopers!
Copepod sighting from Kitakyushu, Japan! I would like to share a video of my friend Blair and I seeing a copepod for the first time on March 25th, 2018 with a Foldscope.

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I scooped some pond water with a paper cup (reused from picnic lunch) from a lily pond where a few koi fish were swimming around. I chose a spot where water was very still. The cup scooped up the pond water with lots of algae, detritus, and tiny swimmers.
With a dropper and a petri dish, Blair caught a tiny dot that seemed interesting to observe. So she transferred the dot onto a glass slide with a very very little droplet of water. And I covered the droplet with a piece of tape, using it as a coverslip.
Here is what we saw…

Our questions captured in the video:
What do copepods eat? Why does it have a red dot? Do copepods have eyespots? Answers found in:
http://www.imas.utas.edu.au/zooplankton/image-key/copepoda & 3. Manu’s narration in WAHEEDA ‘s post http://microcosmos.foldscope.com/?p=23027 Note to self for next time:
Use the PVC well on the slide so that I don’t squish the poor creature CARRIEB ‘s post http://microcosmos.foldscope.com/?p=15983 LAKSIYER ‘s post http://microcosmos.foldscope.com/?p=16915 Keep exploring and share your discoveries with your friends 🙂
Honomi