Table 2. — Organisms identified and enumerated and/or measured during sorting of CalCOFI plankton samples. 



10. 



Each group of organisms is placed in a 2-dr 

 vial with screw cap. An appropriately 

 markel label is placed in each vial, and the 

 vial is capped. Each label includes cruise 

 number, station number, date of tow, or- 

 ganism name and total. If organisms were 

 measured this is indicated on the top of the 

 cap on a self-adhesive label. Labels are 

 written with pencil (grade equal to "H") 

 or waterproof ink (Higgins Engrossing 

 Ink, No. 892, which does not clog the type 

 of pen used here — Kohinoor Rapidograph, 

 No. or 00). 



Note: Paper for labels should be 100% rag con- 

 tent. Inferior quality paper eventually deterior- 

 ates in Formalin or loses legibility. 



The type of screw cap used here is plastic 

 with a vinyl insert (Fig. 28) that is "self- 

 sealing" when screwed tightly on the vial, 

 thus preventing evaporation for long peri- 

 ods of time and decreasing amount of cur- 

 ating time needed to replenish evaporated 

 preservative (see section on Curating). 

 This is much preferred over corks, rubber 

 stoppers, or screw caps with paper liners. 

 All material is checked including the work 

 sheets and vials with labels. 

 A sorter's master sheet (Fig. 29) is com- 

 piled on which the sorting data are sum- 

 marized for each station from each sorter's 

 work sheet. 



11. The vials of each station are banded and 

 arranged in numerical order of stations in 

 small cardboard boxes for delivery to the 

 identification group and further work. 



Identification of Fish Eggs and Larvae 



When the identifiers receive the vials and 

 master sheets from the sorting laboratory their 

 procedures are generally as follows: 



1. All eggs and larvae identified and enumer- 

 ated by the sorters are verified, and their 

 numbers listed in the appropriate boxes at 

 the tops of the columns on the form illus- 

 trated in Figure 30. Since our primary in- 

 terest is in certain commercial species, those 

 are prelisted as shown on the form. 



2. The OFE's (see Table 2) are verified. If 

 any of the form's prelisted species have 

 been overlooked by the sorters, they are 

 listed and added to the totals on the form 

 shown in Figure 30. (Also see Figure 32 

 for method used for automatic data pro- 

 cessing.) 



3. The OFL's (see Table 2) are identified ac- 

 cording to the classifications of Berg and 

 listed in the large space on the form. Se- 

 bastodes — Sebastes (rockfishes) — not the 

 responsibility of the sorters — if present, 

 are totaled and listed in the appropriate 

 box. Flatfishes, some of which are com- 



26 



