C. Krembs et al., THE SPATIAL INFORMATION PRESERVATION METHOD - SAMPLING THE NANOSCALE SPATIAL-DISTRIBUTION OF MICROORGANISMS, Limnology and oceanography, 43(2), 1998, pp. 298-306
It has been hypothesized that plankton patchiness exists on scales of
tens to hundreds of micrometers (nanoscale patchiness). Current sampli
ng methods disrupt the spatial pattern on this scale and therefore can
not detect nanoscale patchiness. We describe a method that allows the
collection of microorganisms and other particles without destroying th
eir relative spatial distribution. Our spatial information preservatio
n (SIP) method is based on rapidly freezing a small sample of water. T
he three-dimensional particle distribution captured in the ice is pres
erved in two dimensions as a projection on a microscope slide. Experim
ents were conducted on the extent of particle movement during freezing
and removal of ice from around the particles, as well as the potentia
l for cell loss during these procedures. The experiments demonstrate t
hat microorganisms can be collected quantitatively with sufficient pre
servation of their spatial distribution to resolve nanoscale patchines
s.