Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

CS37 Zooplankton

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2001, Time: 12:00:00 PM

Location: Aztec

Paffenhofer, G, A, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, USA, cmp@skio.peachnet.edu

Strickler, J, R, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA, jrs@csd.uwm.edu

Baker, C, V, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, USA,

Carigan, S, J, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, USA,

Williams, J, E, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, USA,

ZOOCAM: IN SITU QUANTIFICATION OF ZOOPLANKTON

Major directional motion of zooplankton taxa occurs in the vertical, often because of food and predators. To discern such relationships requires adequate taxonomic identification, and sufficient vertical resolution. Traditionally, identification occurred on net- or pump-sampled animals. Vertical resolution of such sampling usually exceeded one meter. Many of the collected animals had damaged or distorted appendages aggravating taxonomic identification. Vertical layering of zooplankton can be on scales of centimeters. To enumerate and vertically resolve abundances of different metazooplankton species and stages we introduce the ZOOCAM. This instrument descends evenly at 5 cm/sec or faster, records living metazooplankton, which is concentrated one hundredfold, in a field 45 mm wide with 15 microns resolution at 1/20,000 sec 15 times as it passes by the optics resulting in a sharp picture. All animals are in focus. Several examples will illustrate the strengths of this instrument by comparing photographs of living and dead specimens (the latter preserved from net tows). We will also discuss accelerated identification analysis procedures. The application of the ZOOCAM for long-term continuous quantification of metazooplankton in the ocean will be discussed.

This Session Listing

Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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