PLANKTON! The term means “to wander” and it is used to refer to all the organisms in the water column which drift with the currents, rather than by their own ability to swim.
Scientists collect plankton by towing a net with small mesh size, usually in the micron scale, to filter and catch the plankton. Yes, most plankton are so small that they are hard to see with the naked eye. Once filtered and collected, the plankton sample is brought back to a laboratory where the different types of plankton can be identified and quantified (if necessary) with the use of microscopes.
Scientists collect plankton by towing a net with small mesh size, usually in the micron scale, to filter and catch the plankton. Yes, most plankton are so small that they are hard to see with the naked eye. Once filtered and collected, the plankton sample is brought back to a laboratory where the different types of plankton can be identified and quantified (if necessary) with the use of microscopes.
Here are some photos of plankton we found at the lough:
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Jellyfish and medusae are also considered plankton. Even though they can be much larger and move more than most plankton, for the most part, they are subject to the currents. Here are some pictures of a few of the hundreds of jellyfish that came one day to visit Lough Hyne.
By Yolimar Rivera Vázquez