Studies on the phytoplankton of the west coast of India. Part IV. Magnitude of the standing crop for 1955-1962, with observations on nanoplankton and its significance to fisheries

Abstract

It is well known that net collection Of plankton made for quantitative studies on the standing crop does not give a correct picture, for lack of such data as quantity of water filtered, speed of haul and degree of clogging of the bolting silk meshes. Further, another source of error is the unknown quantity of minute organisms, the nanoplankton, that readily pass through the meshes of even the finest woven bolting silk which are not reckoned and the consequent distorted picture obtained about the abundance of the larger organisms. These and other methodological - aspects, as well as the importance of nanoplankton, have been pointed out and discussed by several workers.