Preservation and computer-aided microscopic analysis of planktonic Protozoa and algae

✍ Scribed by Legner, Milos ;Sprules, W. Gary

• Book ID: 104623025
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 639 KB
• Volume: 2
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0925-1014
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00047771

✦ Synopsis

Samples of microplankton and larger nanoplankton (5 to 200 gm) are preserved with a combination of Lugol's solution and DaFano's fixative. Organisms are then settled on a gelatin-coated slide, dried and embedded in 40 percent glycerin. Counting and sizing is performed under a microscope using a drawing tube, which facilitates measuring the organisms with a microcomputer-interfaced caliper. An interactive computer program, written in BASIC, allows for estimating the volumes of cells in up to 40 shape/species categories. The program then saves data on a disk, retrieves them, and calculates the results either for individual species (abundance, biomass, and mean cell volume) or as a pooled size spectrum of all organisms measured.