LAPIS: A new imaging tool for macro-zooplankton

Accurate sampling of macrozooplankton and micronekton has always been challenging. As an alternative sampling approach, camera systems can obtain images of particles or plankton in a quantitative fashion. However, planktonimaging devices built to date operate at too small a spatial scale to be useful for macrozooplankton and micronekton, which range in size from 1 cm to 1 m, with varied shapes, transparency and reflectivity. We have designed and built the Large Area Plankton Imaging System (LAPIS) to address this gap in current imaging capabilities. LAPIS uses hardware and software similar to the Video Plankton Recorder but illuminates much larger volumes in order to image macroplanktonic organisms, including crustaceans, fish and gelatinous animals. This paper briefly describes the current instrument, which was first used on a research cruise in February and March, 2006, and summarizes it capabilities and potential, with examples of image data and their interpretation