IMIS - Marine Research Groups

Samples were retrieved by either a motion compensation Bongo net or a mini Bongo net, and then preserved with Borax buffered 10% formalin for analysis back at the home laboratory. Taxa were identified through examination by light microscopy. The abundance of each taxa within a sample was determined through examining a known fraction of the sample and then making an inverse multiplication of that fraction. Known fractions were principally achieved through the use of a Folsom splitter. Volumetric abundances (individuals m-2) were determined through dividing sample abundance by the volume of water sampled by the respective net. Net volume was mainly derived through multiplying the net opening diameter by the maximum depth of sampling. This calculation assumes 100% net sampling efficiency and that specimens were only captured during the ascent phase of the net deployment.
Data were gathered on a series of oceanographic cruises aboard the RRS James Clark Ross during expeditions to the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean and the North Atlantic/Arctic.
All species were identified according to the taxonomic guides available at time of analysis and the user must be aware that some species names may have since been updated.