Lab analyses

Zooplankton

Zooplankton is the collection of aquatic animal organisms that form an important link in the food chain between phytoplankton and fish. They are useful for ecological water quality assessment. Waardenburg Ecology carries out sampling and analyzes of zooplankton and uses the results in assessments of water quality and ecosystem health.

Zooplankton is the collective name for a very diverse group of unicellular (Protozoa) and multicellular (Metazoa) organisms that live in surface water. They have different food sources, such as phytoplankton (herbivore), bacteria (bacteriavore), detritus (detrivore) or other zooplankton (carnivore).

Potential grazing pressure

Research into zooplankton is mainly used to determine the potential grazing pressure (PGP). The PGP is the ratio of the biomass of algae-eating zooplankton to phytoplankton. It describes the interaction between phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish. This information is very useful for food web analyses.

Ecological assessment

Research on zooplankton is also used for ecological assessments of surface water, and for the evaluation of fish predation and predation by carnivorous zooplankton. Waardenburg Ecology is ISO 17025 accredited for the laboratory analysis of zooplankton.
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Ronald Bijkerk

Researcher Consultant Aquatic Ecology

Biodiversity
Lab analyses

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