Estimation of zooplankton populations in Lake Maarsseveen I: Problems,procedures and results

During three successive years the zooplankton community of a small fresh water lake was sampled and counted weekly. A critical survey is given about the statistical methods employed in plankton research; much depends on sampling and subsampling strategies. It is shown that log-transformation is often unnecessary and that low densities can be estimated accurately with the aid of Poisson tables. For the analysis of time series, no straightforward mathematical instruments are available; spectral analysis has only limited value, so graphical methods are recommended. The results of the plankton counts are briefly discussed in relation to each other, temperature and phytoplankton biomass.