Collecting Water Critters

[Ken Ramos]

For those who have questions as to how to go about collecting samples from ponds for the observation of protozoa and other microorganisms, the reply in this thread by our very own Charlie Krebs will be of utmost importance, as well as the replies to the post by some of our other distinguished members on how they go about collecting water critters and many thanks to PeglegOS for bring the subject to the forum.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=442

[Cyclops]

I remember as a kid I would get an old pair of tights(hosiery),cut a length off and attach a small pickle jar to one end.
I would then travel down to the canal or brook and see what I could find. I had a toy 'scope at the time, a xmas gift from my mom,and tho it was all plastic and dark it got me hooked.(I would love to find the same scope now to keep for my kids)

There was another method I'd use but I cant quite rememeber it all!
Basicaly I would collect some moss or soil from the garden, put it into a tub with a lamp above and a funnel below. anything small would migrate from the heat of the lamp and fall down the funnel!
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[rjlittlefield]

[Cyclops]

[PeglegOS]

I'm going to get one of these Seperatory Funnel Sets soon:



You allow the water to sit for a while, then siphon from the bottom. Will give you a concentrated solution.
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[Jbailey]

I use a plastic turkey baster syringe to draw samples from the top scum or bottom detritus.
I also carry a pair of large surplus haemostats for retrieving algae like Spirogyra.

For crustations, I made a simple sieve about 3 inches in diameter from fine mesh net cloth at the end of a long plastic handle.

Empty instant coffee jars are used to bring the samples home.

[Harold Gough]

The Berlese Funnel is also known as the Tullgren Funnel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tullgren_funnel

For I used such funnels for (one method of) collecting mites and springtails for study. You can place water in the collecting vessel if you want live material. A glass funnel is probably more slippery than plastic so that there is less chance of escape.

Harold
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[flyer2o12]

Here is a scan I took from one of my books: The Amateur Naturalist by Gerald & Lee Durrell

The page illustrates some methods for catching small bugs.



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