Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton-Methodik

SynopsisAll the important questions in counting phytoplankton are reviewed. The methods described refer primarily to fresh water but are applicable to marine phytoplankton as well. No attempt has been made to review the whole of the voluminous literature on counting technique or describe its development. The main aim is to describe the counting-chamber method. The numerous difficulties encountered in quantitative plankton research are discussed and ways of avoiding them are described together with improvements of technique that save time. Among the equipment described are the filling-chamber (Füllkammer) and the combination-chamber (Verbundkammer). A mixture of potassium iodide in iodine and sodium acetate is used for the preservation of phytoplankton. A new sort of fractionated counting designed to overcome a certain degree of unavoidably uneven distribution of the plankton sediments is described.