Three fates potentially consume primary production occurring on ocean margins: portions can be oxidized within the water column, portions can sediment to shelf/slope depots, and portions can be exported to the interior ocean. Zooplankton mediate all three of these processes and thus can alter the pathway and residence time of particulate organic carbon. |
| We contribute by determining the role of microzooplankton in these processes, using two basic components: measuring their growth and ingestion, and coupling those to biomass to estimate community-level impacts. My lab has and continues to specialize in improved methods to determine composition and biomass. Samples are analyzed using an imaging cytometry system which includes a state-of-the-art cooled integrating color CCD detector, mounted on an epifluorescence microscope, and interfaced to a Dual-Pentium II computer. This is interfaced to a motorized stage and associated modular automation controller which permits the operator to scan transects of variable length across the plankton slides while the computer records the fraction of the surface area of the slide which has been examined. The entire process (moving to a given location, focussing, opening an electronic shutter, grabbing an image, closing the shutter, and moving to a new location) can also be automated and computer-controlled. We have used this system at sea on several cruises, in conjunction with vibration-dampening tables. |
