Pam, UR - A girl and her plankton net.

plankton net 80um 

I did a little test today taking a 'student' plankton net to the Tomoka River to see what I could catch. There were some speedy little Cladocera Diplostraca, Water Fleas. They were amazingly fast and furious in their activity. There were several other zooplankton which I have not identified yet. Interestingly the word zooplankton is derived from Greek meaning 'wandering animals'. But this was just a test, sticking my toe in the zoo water so to speak.

What I really want are those beautiful little diatoms. (Not something from a nightmare) When the real search begins in my two research areas the plankton net will be conical, about 5' with a container at the end. The mesh is 80um and the cup at the end with mesh of same size

The microscope I used for the test is also pictured. It had good lighting and focus, but not as close up as I would have wished. But I'm sure the college has some special high power microscope hidden away somewhere.