Sea Creatures

Brittlestar (Common)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:07:52 +0000

The Common Brittlestar is a sea creature that has five long slender arms extending from the centre of its body. It has the name ‘Brittlestar’ because its arms and body are covered in spines which are quite brittle. It can be found in shallow waters in crevices, under large stones and amongst seaweed around most of the English coast, apart from northern East Anglia and in some parts of the south-east. It is also called the Serpent Star.

The Common Brittlestar averages around twenty centimetres in diameter and is usually a brown or grey colour, but sometimes it can be yellow, red, orange, purple and white. On the underside of the arms there are rows of ‘tube feet’ which are fluid-filled muscular tubes with suckers. The tube feet extend the body when the Common Brittlestar wants to move along surfaces or when it is looking for food. The Common Brittlestar can also push its stomach out of its mouth when it wants to feed.

Common Brittlestars gather in large groups on the seabed and groups as large as ten thousand can be seen together. If water currents are too strong, these sea creatures link arms to avoid being swept away. The larvae of Common Brittlestars hatch out of eggs directly into the water where they first become part of zooplankton. After around three weeks the larvae settle on the seabed to develop into adults Common Brittlestars.

Coral (Devonshire Cup)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:08:16 +0000

The Devonshire Cup Coral is a hard stony-looking sea creature that is cup-shaped. It can be found in the north-east and south-west coasts of England. Unlike the Weymouth Carpet Coral, this coral likes to live solitary, although it can be seen quite close to other cup corals. It has its name ‘Devonshire’ because it was first discovered at the south coast of Devonshire in 1860.

The Devonshire Cup Coral is made up of a small organism called a ‘polyp’. The polyp has a mouth surrounded by approximately eighty tentacles. The tentacles have small white knobs at the end of them. The polyp is normally a translucent white colour and is surrounded by a cup-shaped stony skeleton which can be pink, red, orange, brown, green or white. The skeleton protects the polyp and the sensitive tentacles which have stinging cells called ‘nematocysts’. The tentacles and nematocysts are used when this sea creature wants to feed.

The Devonshire Cup Coral can grow up to approximately three centimetres in diameter and in height. It can be found in shallow and deep water of up to a hundred metres where it attaches itself onto stones, rocks and shells. Sometimes it can be found on the shore and in deep rock pools, especially where there is shade.

Coral (Weymouth Carpet)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:08:40 +0000

The Weymouth Carpet Coral is a rare rock-looking sea creature that is mainly found in the south-west coastal waters of England. It has the name ‘Weymouth’ because in was first described in Weymouth in Dorset in 1860. It lives with other Weymouth Carpet Corals to form a colony, unlike the Devonshire Cup Coral which likes to live solitary.

The Weymouth Carpet Coral is made up of a tiny organism called a ‘polyp’. The polyp has a mouth surrounded by lots of tentacles and is normally a light brown colour. It is surrounded by a white hard skeleton mainly made up of calcium carbonate. The skeleton protects the polyp and the sensitive tentacles which have stinging cells called ‘nematocysts’. The Weymouth Carpet Coral uses its tentacles and nematocysts when it wants to feed. This coral likes to feed at night.

The Weymouth Carpet Coral forms clusters of colonies which are approximately five centimetres in diameter. The coral clusters are very rarely seen because they are often attached to stones in dark crevices or at the back of underwater caves as deep as twenty five metres.

Cuttlefish (Common)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:09:03 +0000

The Common Cuttlefish is not a fish like its name suggests, but a ‘cephalopod’ . A cephalopod is a fast-swimming mollusc that has suckered tentacles attached to its head, just like the Lesser Octopus and the Common Squid. It can be found in inshore shallow waters throughout England during the summer months.

The Common Cuttlefish can reach a length of thirty centimetres and has about ten suckered tentacles with two of the tentacles being longer for seizing food. Its head is quite large and its body is broad and flattened which is ideal when this cuttlefish wants to rest on the seabed. It has large eyes with ‘W’ shaped black pupils. It also has an internal body shell known as the ‘cuttlebone’. Cuttlebones are often seen washed up on our shores.

The Common Cuttlefish can swim backwards when it is in danger and it can also release a sort of ink-type dark fluid from its body when it feels very threatened. The inky fluid makes the water dark which confuses any predator. During the predator's confusion the cuttlefish quickly escapes to safety. The Common Cuttlefish feeds on crabs, molluscs and small fish.

Dead Man's Fingers

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:09:27 +0000

The Dead Man’s Fingers is a soft coral that likes to live in clusters of groups to form colonies. The colonies form thick, fleshy-looking masses which take the shape of blunt fingers. The blunt-looking fingers have feathery tentacles giving the impression that the fingers are decaying in water and this is why this sea creature has its name ‘Dead Man’s Fingers’. It can be found all around the coasts of England in deeper waters where it attaches itself onto many hard surfaces such as rocks, shells, stones and even crabs.

The Dead Man’s Fingers is made up of small organisms called ‘polyps’. Each polyp has a mouth surrounded by eight tiny feathery-looking tentacles. Individual polyps can be seen in the colonies when they are submerged in water. The fleshy-looking masses around the polyps can be grey, pink, white, orange or yellow and they protect the polyps and the sensitive tentacles. The tentacles have stinging cells called ‘nematocysts’ which are used when this sea creature wants to feed.

The larvae of the Dead Man’s Fingers hatch out of the eggs directly into the water where they first become part of zooplankton. After around two days they settle on a chosen site to develop into polyps and as time goes by colonies are formed with the familiar shape of ‘Dead Man’s Fingers’.

Feather Star (Rosy)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:09:49 +0000

The Rosy Feather Star is an attractive feathery-looking sea creature that can be found in most waters around England, although it is rarely seen on the south-east coast. It can often be found in shallow waters, but it can also be seen in waters as deep as thirty metres where it normally clings onto rocks and seaweeds.

The Rosy Feather Star has ten pink-red feathery arms which are around five to ten centimetres in length. It uses its feathery arms to filter small particles of plankton from the water when it wants to feed. It has a tiny pink-red body with approximately twenty-five short root-like organs known as ‘cirri’. Cirri are used to grip onto surfaces. When the Rosy Feather Star wants to move to another position, it releases the grip of the cirri and beats its feathery arms up and down so it can swim to a new position. It can also crawl quite quickly by using its cirri.

A young Rosy Feather Star takes the form of a stalk for the first two or three months of its life. Its body grows on top of this stalk and when its ‘cirri’ finally grows, it breaks away from the stalk to find another place to attach itself to begin its adult life.

Hydroid (Oaten Pipe)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:10:17 +0000

The Oaten Pipe Hydroid is a sea creature that looks more like a plant than an animal. It has a long fleshy yellow stem with a pink round body on top. The body is surrounded by lots of fine white tentacles. It almost looks like a flower. This hydroid can be found all around the coasts of England in both shallow and deep waters where it clings onto rocks and shipwrecks.

The Oaten Pipe Hydroid can reach heights between ten to fifteen centimetres and its body and tentacles usually reach a diameter of around one and half centimetres. The body of this hydroid is called a ‘polyp’ and the sensitive tentacles around it have stinging cells called ‘nematocysts’. Nematocysts are used when the Oaten Pipe Hydroid wants to feed.

Oaten Pipe Hydroids are often seen in groups called colonies and some individual polyps in the colony may have different functions such as defending, feeding and reproducing. In order to build their colonies certain Oaten Pipe Hydroids reproduce by ‘budding’ which means they can create cells that promote growth. The cells grow into transparent bell-shaped forms and these cells can produce eggs. Larvae hatch out of the eggs and settle to develop into polyps which become part of a colony.

Jellyfish (Common)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:10:47 +0000

The Common Jellyfish is also known as the Moon Jellyfish or the Saucer Jellyfish. It mainly lives out in open waters, but it is regularly forced closer to shore by tides and currents. Many Common Jellyfish can be seen stranded on our beaches.

The Common Jellyfish lives up to its name by having a body made up of ninety percent jelly. It looks almost see-through even though it has a bluish tint inside its jelly body. The Common Jellyfish takes the position of a bell when it swims in water and sometimes catches prey underneath its bell-shaped body by sinking into the water. Most of the time, however, the Common Jellyfish catches plankton by using a sticky mucus which covers the whole of its body.

Sometimes the Common Jellyfish uses threadlike stinging tentacles under the rim of the bell to catch prey. The sting may harm prey, but it doesn’t generally harm humans because the force of the sting is not powerful enough to penetrate our thick skins. Common Jellyfish swim by pulsating the rims of their bell-shaped bodies and by contracting the muscles around their bodies. However, they often just drift with the currents of the water and become part of zooplankton.

Sponsored by: Poppy Lambert, Bletchingdon

Octopus (Lesser)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:11:16 +0000

The Lesser Octopus is also known as the ‘curled octopus’ because it curls up its tentacles when it rests. It is a ‘cephalopod’ which is a fast swimming mollusc that has suckered tentacle-like arms attached to its head, just like the Common Cuttlefish and the Common Squid. It can sometimes be found along the rocky shores of England, but it is very rarely seen because it spends most of its life hiding in holes and crevices under the sea, especially in the day.

The Lesser Octopus is about fifty centimetres long and has a reddish coloured body covered in tiny wart-like bumps. It has eight powerful tentacle-like arms with one row of sucker pads on each arm which are used for catching prey and for crawling on surfaces. Its head is large and bulbous with two large eyes. It also has an almost beak-shaped jaw. This sea creature can see nearly as well as a human being can see.

The Lesser Octopus can release a sort of ink-type dark fluid from its body when it feels threatened. The inky fluid makes the water dark which confuses and disorientates any predator allowing the octopus to escape from danger.

Sea Cucumber (Gravel)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:11:41 +0000

The Gravel Sea Cucumber is a cucumber-shaped sea creature that is mainly found in the south-west coastal waters of England where there are strong flowing tidal currents. It is often called the ‘Burrowing Sea Cucumber’ because it buries its long body into coarse gravel or through the sediments of coral reefs.

The Gravel Sea Cucumber has a long flexible body with lots of tentacles around its mouth and the tentacles can be seen above the gravel seabed. It has a creamy yellow body which is about ten to fifteen centimetres long and its tentacles are approximately ten centimetres in length. It has twenty light grey feathery-looking tentacles that can quickly be drawn back into the body if disturbed. The tentacles are quite sticky which helps the Gravel Sea Cucumber to collect food off the seabed.

The Gravel Sea Cucumber can move along the seabed by using its 'tube feet' which are fluid-filled muscular tubes with suckers. It can also make its body soft or hard. If this sea creature wants to squeeze through narrow cracks, it can make its body soft and very flexible and if it wants to bury its body in the seabed, it can make its body hard and stiff.

Sea Fan (Pink)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:12:08 +0000

The Pink Sea Fan is a pink or white soft coral that looks more like a plant than an animal. It has a broad base and a column from which wart-like branches grow in a shape of a fan and this is why it has its name the ‘Sea Fan’. It is a protected species that can be found in waters in the south west of England where it attaches itself onto large boulders just below the surface of the seabed. It often lives in waters deeper than fifteen metres where there are strong currents.

The Pink Sea Fan is made up of thousands of identical ‘polyps’. Polyps are small organisms which have a mouth and lots of tentacles and this group of polyps forms a fan-shaped colony. The colony can reach a width of forty centimetres, but it can take up to fifty years or more for it to reach this size. Each individual polyp forms a hard case around itself which looks like a wart-like bump. These wart-like bumps can be seen all along the branches. Polyps catch food by using their tentacles which have stinging cells called ‘nematocysts’. The stinging cells stun prey and the tentacles carry the food to the polyp’s mouth.

It is believed that the larvae of Pink Sea Fans settle soon after hatching to develop into young Pink Sea Fans. Then they travel long distances by floating on water currents and only settle when they have found suitable areas to form new colonies or to be part of existing colonies.

Sea Mat (Trembling)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:13:02 +0000

The Trembling Sea Mat is a yellowy brown sea creature that looks similar to a moss-like plant than an animal. The Trembling Sea Mat is very rare in England and can only be found in shallow waters in a lagoon at Swanpool in Cornwall. It attaches itself onto stones, shells and wood.

The Trembling Sea Mat is made up of different ‘zooids’. The zooids are small cylindrical–shaped organisms with a mouth and tentacles. These organisms form a colony in the shape of a knotted mat of stems and this is why it has the name ‘Sea Mat’. Zooids can be about one to three millimetres in length and each zooid has a ring of eight hair-covered tentacles around its mouth. It uses its tentacles to filter micro-algae when it wants to feed. Zooids have different functions in the colony so they can survive as a whole. Some zooids gather food, some defend the colony, some keep it clean and some reproduce.

Trembling Sea Mat release their eggs around June to September and the larvae that hatch out of the eggs become part of zooplankton for a while. Eventually they settle to develop into young zooids. Young zooids link together to create a chain-like stem called a ‘stolon’. Stolons grow from the base of new zooids and they grow horizontally along the ground to form a mat of stems.

Sea Pen (Phosphorescent)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:13:29 +0000

The Phosphorescent Sea Pen is a deep reddish pink sea creature that has a long thick stem with feathery-looking branches. It has the name ‘Sea Pen’ because it looks like an old-fashioned pen called a ‘quill’ which was made out of a bird’s feather. It can be found in the North Sea in waters as deep as ten to a hundred metres where it anchors itself firmly into muddy, sandy or gravel seabeds.

The Phosphorescent Sea Pen is made up of different ‘polyps’. Polyps are small organisms that have a mouth and tentacles and this group of polyps forms a colony. The colony has a primary polyp that takes the form of a fleshy-looking, long thick stem which loses its tentacles and forms a bulbous root at the base. The stem is around forty centimetres tall and has lots of branches on either side. The branches are formed by white coloured secondary polyps which can be seen in rows all along the branches.

The Phosphorescent Sea Pen also has its name because it is ‘phosphorescent’. This means it can give off brilliant flashes and pulses of blue-green light if it is gently touched. The light comes from the polyps which are connected to a network of nerves.

Sea Squirt (Football)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:14:03 +0000

The Football Sea Squirt is a milky white transparent-looking sea creature that can be found in England on the south coast of Devon. It has its name because it lives in a colony which takes the shape of a football and it can also squirt water out of its body. It can be found in clear waters as deep as twenty to two hundred metres where it attaches itself onto large stable rocks.

The Football Sea Squirt colony is made up of lots of individual ‘zooids’ which are living organisms closely linked together and attached to a common base mass. An individual zooid takes the form of a ‘U’ shaped tube which is surrounded by a tough, gelatinous tunic for protection. The ‘U’ shaped zooid has two openings. One of the openings takes water in, while the other opening squirts water out, but if the Football Sea Squirt feels threatened or if it is disturbed, it can contract its body and squirt water out of both tubes. A colony of zooids can grow up ten to forty centimetres in diameter.

The larvae of the Football Sea Squirt are often called ‘tadpoles’ and when they first hatch out of the eggs they swim upwards towards the light. Eventually they settle back into the darkness of the seabed where they develop into adult Football Sea Squirts.

Sea Squirt (Lightbulb)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:14:33 +0000

The Lightbulb Sea Squirt is a transparent-looking sea creature that is almost tube-like in appearance. It lives in a group called a colony and can be found around most of the coasts of England in clear waters as deep as twenty to fifty metres. It attaches itself onto vertical rock faces, shells and seaweed. It has the name 'Lightbulb' because it seems to glow like a lightbulb. It also has yellow or white lines running vertically down its transparent body and you can see its internal organs, just like you can see the inside of a lightbulb.

The Lightbulb Sea Squirt colony is made up of lots of individual ‘zooids’. A zooid is a living organism that takes the form of a ‘U’ shaped tube. It has a tough transparent gelatinous tunic around it for protection. Each zooid has two openings. One of the openings takes water in, while the other opening squirts water out, but if the Lightbulb Sea Squirt feels threatened or if it is disturbed, it can contract its body and squirt water out of both tubes. A colony of zooids can grow about two centimetres tall and about fifteen centimetres in diameter.

The larvae of the Lightbulb Sea Squirt are often called ‘tadpoles’ and when they first hatch out of the eggs they swim upwards towards the light. Eventually they settle back into the darkness of the seabed where they develop into adult Lightbulb Sea Squirts.

Seahorse (Short-snouted)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:15:00 +0000

The Short-snouted Seahorse can be found in waters in the south, south-east and east coasts of England. It can also be found in the summer months in estuaries and bays that have a good amount of seaweed and sea grass. This seahorse is related to the Spiny Seahorse which is also found in our coastal waters.

The Short-snouted Seahorse can reach a length of about fifteen centimetres and it has the name ‘Seahorse’ because of its horse-shaped head. It also has a short nose that is slightly upturned and this is why it is called the ‘Short-snouted Seahorse’. It has a knobbly-looking body which is covered in wart-like lumps. The body can change its colour to match its surroundings so it can be a brown, orange, purple or black colour. The Short-snouted Seahorse also has a long tail that is used for climbing. It swims in an upright position and uses a fin on the middle of its body to propel forward.

The female Short-snouted Seahorse lays her eggs in a special pouch which is on the front of the male’s body and then the male takes over the responsibility of looking after the eggs. The male guards and protects them until they are ready to hatch. Seahorses are often sought after as souvenirs because they dry out intact.

Sponsored by: Carol Thomas, Macclesfield

Seahorse (Spiny)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:15:29 +0000

The Spiny Seahorse can be found along the south and south-west coast of England where it can be found in shallow areas of the sea. It can also be found in rock pools in spring to early autumn. This seahorse is also called the ‘Long-snouted Seahorse’ and is related to the ‘Short-snouted Seahorse’ which is also found in our coastal waters.

The Spiny Seahorse can reach a length of around twenty centimetres and it has the name 'Spiny Seahorse' because it has a horse-shaped head covered with lots of spines. The spines also run down the length of the seahorse’s body. The body can change its colour to match its surroundings so it can be a greenish yellow to a reddish brown colour. It also has a long tail that is used for climbing. The Spiny Seahorse swims in an upright position and uses a fin situated near the base of its tail to propel forward.

The female Spiny Seahorse lays her eggs in a special pouch which is on the front of the male’s body and then the male takes over the responsibility of looking after the eggs. The male guards and protects them until they are ready to hatch. Seahorses are often sought after as souvenirs because they dry out intact.

Sponge (Sea Orange)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:15:55 +0000

The Sea Orange Sponge is a bright orange sponge-looking sea creature that is also known as the Sulphur Sponge. It can be found all around the coasts of England in shallow and deep waters. It attaches itself onto rocks, ship wrecks, empty shells and also on the shells of living Hermit Crabs.

The Sea Orange Sponge is a group of cells that live together to form a colony and the colony is held together by a spongy body. The body can be ten to forty centimetres in diameter and is usually an orange colour, but it can also be yellow, brown, green, grey or white. The spongy body has a system of pores and canals which water passes through. The cells in the sponge body need to be able to work together to be able to survive as an entire animal so certain cells have specific functions. Some cells maintain the flow of water through the spongy body, some reproduce and some are filter feeders which store and bring food to other cells.

Some cells reproduce by ‘budding’ which means they can create other cells that promote growth. Some cells can also create eggs which hatch directly in the water. The larvae that hatch out of the eggs may become part of zooplankton for a while, but usually they settle immediately to develop into adult Sea Orange Sponges.

Squid (Common)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:16:30 +0000

The Common Squid is also known as the European Common Squid and is a ‘cephalopod’. A cephalopod is a fast-swimming mollusc that has suckered tentacles attached to its head, just like the Common Cuttlefish and the Lesser Octopus. It is usually found offshore all around the coasts of England, although it is more commonly found on the south coast. It can sometimes be spotted in deep rock rocks and is often referred to as ‘calamari’.

The Common Squid can reach a length of thirty centimetres and has ten suckered tentacles attached to its head with two of the tentacles being longer for seizing food. Its head is quite large with two black eyes. It has an almost tubular-shaped flattened body and a long, internal pen-shaped shell which supports the Common Squid’s slender body.

The Common Squid can change its body colour to suit its surroundings so it can be a pale grey to a brown or purple colour and like the Common Cuttlefish it can release a sort of ink-type dark fluid from its body when it feels threatened. The inky fluid makes the water dark which confuses any predator. During the predator’s confusion the Common Squid quickly escapes to safety.

Starfish (Common)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:16:56 +0000

The Common Starfish is a thick spiny-bodied sea creature that has five arms extending from the centre of its body. It can be found all around the English coast in off-shore waters on sand, rocks, gravel and often on mussel and barnacle beds. Sometimes it can be found washed up on our shores. It is also known as the Sea Star.

The Common Starfish averages around twenty centimetres in diameter and is usually an orange colour, but sometimes it can be yellow-brown or violet. The arms of this starfish are broad at the base and the tips are quite narrow which are curved upwards when the starfish is active. On the top of each arm there is a row of spines and on the underpart of each arm there is a row of ‘tube feet’. Tube feet are fluid-filled muscular tubes with suckers that extend the body when the Common Starfish wants to move along surfaces and when it wants to feed.

The larvae of Common Starfish hatch out of eggs directly into the water where they first become part of zooplankton. After three weeks the larvae settle on the seabed to go through a process called ‘metamorphosis’ which is the transformation of a larva to an adult. The Common Starfish takes its familiar shape of a star three months after hatching.

Sunstar (Common)

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:17:23 +0000

The Common Sunstar is a thick spiny-bodied sea creature that has ten to twelve arms extending from the centre of its body. It is related to the Common Starfish and can be found all around the English coast in off-shore waters on sand, rocks, gravel and often on mussel and oyster beds.

The Common Sunstar averages around twenty-five to thirty-five centimetres in diameter and although it usually has around ten to twelve arms, it can sometimes have as many as sixteen. The tips of the arms have pink-red and bright red stripes running across them and the base of the arms are usually a yellowy white colour. The centre of the body is a brown-red colour. When this sea creature lies on the seabed, it looks the colour and the shape of the sun and this is why it is called the ‘Sunstar’. On the underside of each arm there is a row of ‘tube-feet’. Tube feet are fluid-filled muscular tubes with suckers that extend the body when this sea creature wants to move along surfaces and when it wants to feed.

The larvae of Common Sunstar hatch out of eggs directly into the water where they first become part of zooplankton. After three weeks the larvae settle on the seabed to develop into adult Common Sunstars.

Urchin (Common Sea)

Debbie — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:48:39 +0000

The Common Sea Urchin is a round orange-pink sea creature that is also known as the Edible Sea Urchin. It is widespread around the English coast and is mainly found under stones, among seaweeds in depths of over a thousand metres. It can also be found in rock pools.

The Common Sea Urchin’s body can grow up to ten centimetres in width and although it is usually an orange-pink colour, it sometimes can be yellow, green or purple. The body is covered in short, reddish coloured bristly spines that have white bases. The Common Sea Urchin uses its spines and ‘tube feet’ to move along surfaces. Tube feet are small tiny fluid-filled muscular tubes that can grip onto rocks and other hard objects. The Common Sea Urchin has a mouth and teeth which are situated on the underside of its body and in the middle of each tooth there is a fleshy part that acts like a tongue.

The name ‘Edible Sea Urchin’ implies that this sea urchin can be eaten, but in fact it is only the eggs (roe) that are edible. The eggs are set out in the sea where they develop into larvae. The larvae become part of zooplankton for a while before settling on the seabed to develop into adults.

Zooplankton

admin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:09:48 +0000

Zooplankton is basically a group of living animal organisms that float and drift freely with the currents of the water. Many of these organisms are microscopic which means they are so minute that they can’t be seen with the naked eye. Zooplankton often drifts in the top thirty metres of the sea in a ‘photic zone’ which is the layer of the sea that the sun can penetrate through.

There are two different types of zooplankton of which one is called ‘meroplankton’. Meroplankton is usually the larvae of fish, crabs, crustaceans and the larvae of ‘echinoderms’ which are a group of sea animals that include starfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers and others. Meroplankton only becomes part of zooplankton for a short while because the larvae eventually settle on the seabed to develop into adults.

The other type of zooplankton is called ‘holoplankton’ which is group of plankton that remains as plankton through all stages of its life, like for example ‘jellyfish’, ‘copepods’ and ‘euphausiids’. Copepods and euphausiids are tiny crustaceans that cod like to eat. Zooplankton plays an important role in the food chain of sea life.