tiny creature
big impact
the nicothoid project
In Fall of 2021, one of our researchers spotted a strange looking egg in the brood of a yellow rock crab (Cancer antennarius) collected off the coast of Santa Barbara. It turned out to not be an egg at all, but a tiny, round, perfectly camouflaged copepod, living amongst the crab's eggs and consuming them. This was the first time one of these copepods, belonging to the Family Nicothoidae, has been observed in a crab on the West Coast. Since our discovery, we have assembled a team of undergraduate students, graduate students, UCSB faculty, and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium scientists to investigate this tiny crustacean and its impact on the commercial rock crab fishery.
Recent News!
July 2022 - Jade and Sophia win Best Student Poster at e-ICOC (International Conference on Copepoda). Congrats you two!
April 2022 - Team NICO presents a talk on the nicothoid research at UCSB's EEMB Undergraduate Research Symposium. Looking good team!
March 2022 - Zoe presents a talk introducing Connie the Choniosphaerid at UCSB's Graduate Student Symposium.
November 2021 - Zoe wins Honorable Mention - Best Poster at the virtual Western Society of Naturalists Conference!
