Small animals can have a big impact. Mosquitos and snails are living proof.
Now copepods have been found to be equally influential. Mini shrimps, as insignificant as a single grain of ground coffee.
The nocturnal animals with an inner biological clock feed on phytoplankton. These swim on the ocean’s surface and, as we know, sequester CO2.
Copepods cover unusually large distances for their size, diving deep into the sea by day to hide from predators. After digesting the phytoplankton, the copepods’ tiny poop sinks to the sea bed.
When the creatures die, their carcasses, like those of whales, also sink to the bottom of the sea, preventing CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
Every little helps.
