How To Collect Plankton Samples
How To Collect Plankton Samples
How To Collect Plankton Samples
Plankton Web
Sampling
General information about how to collect plankton samples
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Sampling
General information about how to collect plankton samples
Various methods exist for sampling the zooplankton of a lake or pond. The most common method is to pull a fine mesh net through the water, either vertically or horizontally, and then collect the animals that have been retained by the net. Another common method is to use a box-shaped device called a SchindlerPatalas trap that can be lowered to a particular depth, triggered to close, and then collect the zooplankton that is captured inside. If the aim is to capture only small zooplankton, such as rotifers, then a whole water sample can be collected, either with a Van Dorn bottle at discrete depths, or with a long tube made of PVC or some other material, which can sample the entire water column. The animals then are settled from the water or sieved onto a very fine mesh.
Photos of a plankton net, Schindler-Patalas trap and integrated sampler. Each of these sampling methods has pros and cons and the choice of a particular method or set of methods depends on characteristics of the lake (depth, density of algae, etc.) and the zooplankton itself. An additional important consideration is the number of samples required to characterize the zooplankton in a manner that accounts for its variation in vertical space, horizontal space, and time.
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Sampling methods
Three common methods for sampling zooplankton (shown in the photographs above) are net, trap, and tube. Nets are used most often, yet they have serious limitations in regard to obtaining good quantitative data, especially in nutrient and algae-rich waters. Nets are conical devices made of fine nylon mesh that are pulled through the water either vertically or horizontally for a known distance. Animals are captured in a vial or mesh-walled bucket at the bottom of the net and then can be rinsed into a storage bottle for counting. The amount of water from which zooplankton are removed is estimated as length of tow times mouth diameter of the net. However, nets may not actually filter this volume of water. The main advantage to using a net is that samples of large volumes of lake water can be collected quickly. Nets can be obtained with various mesh sizes, depending on whether one wants to collect only the largest zooplankton or the entire size range that occurs in the water. The most common trap sampler is the Schindler-Patalas trap, obviously named after the two scientists who invented the device. This is a clear plastic box that is lowered to a desired depth in the water column and then quickly closed (upper and lower doors) by pulling upward on the line by which the device is lowered and raised in the water. This traps zooplankton inside the box. When lifted into the boat, the water is allowed to exit a small mesh net that is attached to the lower wall of the box, and zooplankton is collected inside a sampling bucket at the end of that net. This device provides a high degree of certainty regarding the actual volume of water sampled, but if the water column is deep, it may take many samples to collect animals from all depths from surface to bottom. The third method is a tube, made of common PVC or Tygon. A tube is lowered into the water column, and when the bottom reaches the desired depth (near the sediments), a line is pulled to close the bottom with a rubber stopper or other device. The tube is raised into the boat and the collected water poured through a net to collect the zooplankton. This device also provides a high degree of certainty about volume of water sampled, but it may not be an effective way to sample large animals that occur at a low density, or animals that can detect and escape from a narrow sampling device. Nets, traps, and tubes will be used to collect representative during the Zooplankton Ecology course, and students will participate in a critical analysis of these three common sampling techniques.
Sample preservation
Preserve freshly collected zooplankton with 40% formalin-sucrose solution that is chilled to around 5 degrees C before use. Add about 2 grams of sucrose (table sugar) to lab grade formalin. Add a sufficient quantity of preservative to the sample to achieve a final concentration of approximately 40% formalin. Formalin preserves the animals by preventing bacterial decomposition. The combined effect of sucrose and chilling the preservative prevents distortion of cladoceran bodies that occurs with non-amended formalin. Keep the preserved samples in near air-tight containers (Whirl-Pak bags or small plastic Nalgene bottles) under refrigerated conditions for best results.
Zooplankton production
This aspect of zooplankton ecology requires advanced methods that are covered in the Zooplankton
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Ecology course.
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