Manasi is investigating whether clay minerals are ingested by zooplankton species such as copepods and are transported to deeper waters via fecal pellets. Copepods are the most abundant mesozooplankton taxa in the marine environment and represent a vital link in the marine food web between algae and higher predators such as fish, whales etc. Fecal pellets produced by copepods are an important nutrient source for deep water ecosystems and can rapidly transport organic matter to the ocean floor. Fecal pellet production rates of actively feeding copepods may exceed 10 pellets per hour.
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