For biological oceanography it is important to understand the coupling between physical and biological processes in pelagic systems. The calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus dominates the zoo-plankton biomass and is an important link between primary producers and higher trophic levels in the northern Atlantic. Thus understanding how the physical environment affects gene expression or population genetics in this species is important. However, very few nuclear genes have been characterized from this species, making it difficult to perform these types of studies. Four cDNAs encoding actin, hexokinase, phosphoglucose isomerase, and phosphofructokinase, as well as a hexokinase genomic DNA, have been isolated and characterized. These sequences constitute important molecular tools for biological oceanographers.