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Mesocyclops
''Mesocyclops'' is a genus of copepod crustaceans in the family Cyclopidae. Because the various species of ''Mesocyclops'' are known to prey on mosquito larvae, it is used as a nontoxic and inexpensive form of biological mosquito control. Biological control Individuals of ''Mesocyclops'' can be easily harvested, bred and released into freshwater containers where the ''Aedes aegypti'' mosquito larvae (the vector of Dengue fever) live. A big advantage of the ''Mesocyclops'' is that it is possible to teach schoolchildren how to recognize and collect them so that communities are able to perform sustainable mosquito control without much professional or governmental assistance. A field trial in Vietnam has shown that large-scale elimination of ''Aedes aegypti'' larvae is possible. Because ''Mesocyclops'' is a host for the parasitic round worm Guinea worm (''Dracunculus medinensis'', the causative agent of dracunculiasis), this method is potentially hazardous in the small number of co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copepod
Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have parasitic phases, and some continental species may live in limnoterrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds, and puddles, damp moss, or water-filled recesses (phytotelmata) of plants such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Many live underground in marine and freshwater caves, sinkholes, or stream beds. Copepods are sometimes used as biodiversity indicators. As with other crustaceans, copepods have a larval form. For copepods, the egg hatches into a nauplius form, with a head and a tail but no true thorax or abdomen. The larva molts several times until it resembles the adult and then, after more molts, achieves adult development. The nauplius form is so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
