Abstract
The paper presents the results from a study in which two commonly used plankton nets, the Nansen net and the WP 2 net, were compared. The study was performed at six stations in the Baltic Sea and the samples were collected during seasons of both high and low particle abundance. The comparison included both qualitative and quantitative filtration capacity of the nets under different environmental conditions. Different mesh sizes were also tested. The results show that the Nansen net has an efficiency of 50–70% compared to the WP 2 net under favourable conditions. When conditions are unfavourable, i.e. during periods of high particle abundance or during long hauls, the efficiency may be as low as 25–30%. The mesh size of the nets proved to be of decisive importance for the qualitative composition of the samples. Most of the smaller size fractions such as rotifers, copepod nauplii and young copepodites passed through the 160 and 200 μm meshes. The 90 μm nets sampled these fractions well but with the drawback of retaining vast amounts of phytoplankton at certain times of the year.
Published Version
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