Discovering Plankton – Making a simple net

Using a Stereo Microscope

Our seas are alive with a multitude of small creatures that are carried around by the tide. Some live in the water column all the time, others are the child stages (larvae) of animals such as starfish, barnacles, crabs and lobsters. The Discover Filey Group has developed plans for a Discover Plankton, plankton net in the time honoured tradition of the TV series ‘Blue Peter’. It may look a little scrappy, but we have trialled it and it works.

This is very much a ‘mark 1′ version and we would very much welcome photographs of a tidied up mark 2 version. The only item that is not readily available is the 70ml sample container. This could easily be replaced with any small plastic container of similar size. Alternatively visit one of our public events as advertised on this website and we may have a few spare.

Your catch will probably consist of a few little animals slightly smaller than a pnhead, although you may catch prawns or baby plaice in June and July. The plaice, known locally as postage stamps, because of their size, should be returned to the sea.

Microscopes will be available at our events including the portable ‘Trekker’ which has excellent quality and is largely child proof. Microscopy, the study of the microscopic world is a great hobby for both children and adults. Specimens can be examined with strong hand lenses (x10 to x20) but a better choice is a proper field microscope (£50 upwards) or even better a stereo microscope. A good range of equipment can be found at the One Stop Nature Shop Site. The Discover Filey Project has no commercial links with the One Stop Nature Shop.