Predator and Prey

The water flea Daphnia longicephala develops remarkably protective crests and tail spines in the presence of a predator, the water bug Notonecta. 

The crest and the elongated spine keep their predator, the backswimmer, from getting a firm grasp on them. This scanning electron micrograph shows genetically identical individuals of the same clone of Daphnia longicephala. 

This image was submitted as part of the 2007 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge, an effort jointly administered by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science.  Winners from the SciViz challenges can be seen at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp.

Credit: Christian Laforsch, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich