Halobates

Halobates is a genus of water-strider insects. Five species live on the open ocean, making them the only insects known to complete their life cycle in this habitat.

Water repellency: The property of a surface that resists wetting by water. Water-repellent body hairs help Halobates stay afloat and avoid being wetted by waves.
Marine plastic pollution: The accumulation of plastic debris in marine environments. Floating plastics create additional hard surfaces where Halobates eggs may be laid.
Charles Spence Bate: A British zoologist and paleontologist who studied crustaceans and other marine animals. Bate established the genus Halobates in the nineteenth century.
Halobates micans: An oceanic species of water strider found in tropical and subtropical waters. It is among the best-known open-ocean members of the genus.
Surface tension: The tendency of a liquid surface to resist deformation because of cohesive molecular forces. Halobates uses surface tension to stand and skate on seawater without sinking.
Neuston: Organisms that live at or just below the surface film of water. Halobates is part of the oceanic neuston, a community affected by surface debris and pollution.
Gerridae: A family of semi-aquatic true bugs commonly known as water striders. Halobates is a genus within Gerridae, whose other members generally inhabit inland or coastal waters.
Halobates sericeus: An oceanic water-strider species found in the Pacific Ocean. Its distribution and abundance have been studied in the central Pacific.
Water strider: An insect in the family Gerridae that moves across the surfaces of water. Halobates belongs to this broader group, though most water striders live on freshwater.
Marine food web: The network of feeding relationships among organisms in a marine ecosystem. Halobates consumes small surface-dwelling prey and is itself eaten by ocean predators.

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Plastron respirationBroader topic: Some species use a plastron to breathe while submerged beneath the sea surface.