Combat between predatory copepods and their prey: Cyclops, Epischura, and Bosmina1

• DOI: 10.4319/lo.1978.23.6.1089
• Publication Date: 2010-03-27T17:12:41Z
• Authors: W. Charles Kerfoot
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 14. Life underwater; 01 natural sciences

Predatory copepods are not imprecise hunters: they are capable of sophisticated behavior. Pelagic species (Cyclops, Epischura) usually sense approaching prey from a distance and must judge approach angle and prey speed, reorient during attack, and often vary their handling responses. Below certain crucial sizes that trigger avoidance responses in the predator, attack distances are related to prey size and speed. Cyclopoids and predatory calanoids (Epischura) capture and handle prey differently, and the morphology of the first maxillae reflects these modes. Apparently, the coexistence of certain small‐bodied cladocerans (Bosmina, Chydorus) with predatory copepods results more from the evolution of effective defenses in the prey than from the clumsiness of the predator.