Influence of pore size of plankton nets and towing speed on the sampling performance of two high-speed samplers (Delfino I and II) and its consequences for the assessment of plankton populations

The sampling performance of two high-speed samplers, (Delfino I and II), fitted with a calibrated flow meter, was studied in the open Ligurian Sea using a battery comprising 6 such Delfinos linked together. Since, in plankton counts, only those organisms should be counted which are definitely retained in the nets, several techniques for the separation of the organisms which pass through the pore of a net of a given pore size and those which are safely retained were tested. Attempts to separate these two fractions by filtration of the fixed sample through nets of different pore sizes were not successful, as living organisms were able to pass through pore sizes which retained dead organisms. However, optical sizing under the dissecting microscope during counting gave reproducible results. Using this counting technique, the influence of the pore size of plankton nets on the reproducibility of sampling of natural populations was studied. The results obtained show that live plankton passes through the net pores at a size at which fixed plankton is retained. Hence, the minimum retention size for living and dead plankton is different. By comparing samples taken with nets of different pore sizes, and counting the organisms caught according to different sizes, it was possible to determine the minimum retention size of live plankton organisms for several different net pore-sizes. The minimum retention size is, therefore, the smallest pore size at which the organisms of a certain width cannot escape through the pores of the net and are, thus, quantitatively retained in the net. By applying the criterion of minimum retention size, the influence of speed towing on the number of plankton organisms caught was studied. It was shown that the number of organisms which are safely retained, i.e., do not escape through the pores, increased with speed, reaching a plateau at 5 to 7 knots.A contribution under the Association Contract CNEN-EURATOM. Contribution No. 668 of the Euratom Biology Division.