Which common zooplankton crustacean is widely found in marine ecosystems and important in food webs?

• A. Angiosperm
• B. Copepod
• C. Cyanobacterium
• D. Foraminifera

Answer: (B)

Copepods are tiny crustacean zooplankton that are found throughout the marine environment. They are one of the most abundant groups of zooplankton and play a crucial role in food webs: they graze on phytoplankton and then become prey for many larger animals, from small fish to seabirds and whales. This makes them a major conduit for transferring energy from primary producers to higher trophic levels. The other options aren’t crustaceans—they’re a flowering plant (angiosperm), a photosynthetic bacterium (cyanobacterium), and a single-celled protist with a calcium carbonate shell (foraminifera). That combination of being a crustacean and a key prey-predator link in oceans is why copepods are the best answer.