Zooplankton Collections in Alcohol Protocol

Zooplankton samples preserved in 95% ethyl alcohol from Broad Scale Survey cruises are desired for molecular analysis. The protocol is given below:
  1. Drain excess seawater from the sample. In most cases, the sample for alcohol preservation will be the #5 Net of the 1m MOCNESS. Unstratified samples are acceptable, so a down-net with 333 um mesh is preferable. One sample from each "core" broad scale station (N = 38) is desired.
  2. Place up to 250 - 300 ml of the drained sample in a one-quart glass jar. Splitting the sample, draining, and placing in jars is also OK. Do not sort the sample. If the rest of the sample will be discarded, please include all euphausiids and large crustaceans in the sample to be preserved. Remember - the sample should not come into contact with formalin or with objects that have been in formalin.
  3. Fill the one quart jar with 95% ethyl alcohol. Note: there must be 3 to 4 times more alcohol than plankton volume. DENATURED ALCOHOL CANNOT BE USED FOR SAMPLE PRESERVATION.
  4. After 24 hours, drain off alcohol and replace with fresh alcohol.

After the Cruise

Ship to Ann Bucklin, leave samples in Peter Wiebe's lab at WHOI, or call Ann to make arrangements for pick-up:
Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory / Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space / 142 Morse Hall / University of New Hampshire / Durham, NH 03824-3525 / (603) 862-0122 / FAX (603) 862-0243

Thank you very much!!!

Prepared by Ann Bucklin: 4/22/95