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Copepod2
2024-11-25
- Classification
- Photograph
- Museum
- Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- CC BY 4.0, as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Kids profiles and older: it shows nature, places, still life or a children's book. How works are placed
About this work
This image features a freshwater copepod (approx. 4 mm in length) collected from the town pond in Rakvere, Estonia. The photograph employs two lighting techniques: darkfield microscopy and polarized light, using a 3.5x magnification. The final image was created using focus stacking.
Copepods play a crucial role in freshwater ecosystems, serving as primary consumers and as food for larger organisms. The use of polarized light highlights structural variations otherwise invisible to the naked eye, while darkfield microscopy creates a high-contrast background, emphasizing the specimen's features.
Note: The bright, ring-like objects surrounding the specimen are actually air bubbles trapped under the cover slip. Due to the darkfield lighting technique, they refract light strongly at the edges, appearing metallic.
