Copepods

Ribbon Louse
Copepod

Most copepods are harmless plankters or bottom dwellers. In fact, copepods are the most numerous of all crustaceans in terms of both species and population. However, since they generally range in size from 1/16" to 1/2 ", they are not of much interest to divers.

The Ribbon Louse ( Lernaeenicus spp. far right, 1 inch to 1 foot ) is a fish parasite. I have observed these bizarre creatures only in the aquarium. The head ( at lower left ) is buried in the body of the host, while the worm-like body hangs outside. Only the twin tails betray its true and almost unrecognizable nature - this is a copepod crustacean. And this is not even the extreme of crustacean evolution - some parasitic barnacles live completely inside their host, actually melding with the host's flesh until the two are inseparable, like some kind of science fiction nightmare.

Copepods
Planktonic copepods

The heavyweight cold-water wetsuit is probably responsible for the premature demise of more nascent diving careers than any other factor. These awful things are simply uncomfortable and ineffective. For all the stiffness, squeezing, bulk, and extra weight of 5-7mm wetsuit, in the end, it really doesn't keep you warm, and most cold-water wetsuit divers are pretty miserable creatures. I have seen the constriction and topside overheating of one of these things make its poor wearer sick on dry land, never mind on a boat out at sea.

manual

For an excellent guide to drysuit use, pick up a copy of DUI's drysuit owner's manual, available at most dealers for under $10.

Or just download it.

The argument that heavy cold-water wetsuits are easier to use is patently false. A wetsuit has a mind of its own and will make wide depth-dependant swings in buoyancy over which the wearer has no control. How is that better than a drysuit, which the user can consciously trim for constant buoyancy during the descent, and which semi-automatically trims itself during ascent?

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