Free-living and Parasitic Copepods of the Laurentian Great Lakes: Keys and Details on Individual Species

We intend that this website provide individuals interested in copepod and branchiuran crustaceans of the Great Lakes with the best taxonomic information currently available, a brief introduction to the known distributions and ecology of the various species, and some of the most relevant literature.

This product reflects our belief that the taxonomy of even "difficult" groups can be made understandable, interesting, and informative, especially in this digital age.

Most of the information on the copepod fauna of the Great Lakes can be accessed directly from the Main Menu. To access information on identification nuances, distribution, life history, ecology, and synonymies for each species, there are two routes available. You can go to the Species List of Major Groups and Distribution Within the Great Lakes and in the table click on the name of the species in which you are interested, or you can click on the species name within the key when you reach the end of the identification process. Photographs, drawings, and text can be printed by placing the cursor over the object or page of interest, right-clicking, and then selecting the appropriate option from the drop down menu.