Publication Date:
2019-09-13
Description:
This chapter throws the attention on the methods of sampling the benthos, which has been directed mainly to the operation of the gear at sea and to such other factors as may influence sampling methods. This chapter briefly traces the history of benthos investigations, and then considers how far the instruments now available provide with the quantitative samples. It also shows how advances in other fields, such as radio-position finding, sonar and electronic equipment have increased the precision of our sampling methods. Moreover, sorting and sieving on board ship can be considered and brief mention made of methods of soil analysis and biomass determination. This chapter discusses the two possible approaches for the development of satisfactory quantitative collecting methods. First the improvement of the grab-type of instrument, with particular reference to increasing penetration and the perfection of release gear for the open sea, and second; the development of a wide-core sampler, like the Knudsen sampler, which works satisfactorily in the open sea. Moreover, statistics need to be even more fully applied, where collecting methods justify them, to such problems as the degree and scale of dispersion of individuals.
Type:
Article
,
PeerReviewed
Format:
text
