SAMPLES ARE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. Please contact the NEON Biorepository for information about when these samples will become available. This collection contains unsorted bulk zooplankton samples (NEON sample class: zoo_fieldData_in.sampleID.dna). Zooplankton samples are collected three times per year at lake sites during aquatic biology bout windows, roughly in spring, summer, and fall. Samples are collected using either a tow net (water deeper than 4 m) or a Schindler-Patalas trap (water shallower than 4 m) depending on the depth at the sampling location. Samples are collected near the NEON profiling buoy as well as the inlet and outlet sensor sets. During each sampling bout, three samples are collected for morphological taxonomy and three samples for DNA. The DNA samples from bout 2 (summer) are sent to an external laboratory for metabarcoding. The unsorted bulk DNA samples from bout 1 (spring) and bout 3 (autumn) are archived for future research. Unsorted bulk zooplankton samples are preserved in 30-40% ethanol (prior to 2020) or 95% ethanol (2020 and beyond) and archived in a temperature (17-18°C) and humidity controlled environment. See related links below for protocols and NEON related data products.
