Since phytoplankton are so incredibly diverse, a variety of
procedures for processing water samples were employed in an
attempt to accommodate as many taxonomic groups as possible.
On deck, immediately after collection, each bottle sample was
split into 3 subsamples for separate analyses. First, 250 mL
aliquots from all sample bottles were preserved in 1% formalde-
hyde with 1% glacial acetic acid, and subsequently used to count
diatoms and thecate dinoflagellates. Next, 25 mL aliquots from 6
sample bottles were fixed with 1% formaldehyde for 5 min,
filtered onto 0.2 Whatman Anodisc membrane filters and
stored in a cooler with freezer packs for analysis of picoplankton,
and visualization of pigment systems such as phycobilins, which
are indicative of specific taxa such as
Synechococcus
and
cryptomonads (
MacIsaac and Stockner, 1993
). Finally, approxi-
mately 500 ml aliquots of live samples from each bottle were
stored in a separate cooler for later video analysis on shore.