著者

櫻井 久惠 佐野 雅美 高橋 邦夫 真壁 竜介 小達 恒夫

出版者

日本プランクトン学会

雑誌

日本プランクトン学会報 (ISSN:03878961)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.67, no.1, pp.19-23, 2020-02-25 (Released:2020-02-28)

参考文献数

9

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Using plankton sampled from the Southern Ocean and archived at the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR, Tokyo), we prepared resin-embedded plankton specimens as a marine education material. This form of preservation allows one to observe the specimens’ appearance in multiple aspects with the naked eye. In addition, resin-embedded specimens are solid, robust and lightweight, and so can be easily transported and handled. Moreover, such specimens can be used for observations of fine structure, which has various advantages as a learning material for graduate students and young scientists. As of October 2019, we produced 210 individual pieces, comprising 52 species of marine plankton in 12 major groups. The specimens have so far been used at various locations and events, such as the “Open House” and the “Polar Science Museum” of the NIPR, for display at the GRAntarctic booth of the JpGU, at junior high school classes, and in science cafes. Plankton are important organisms for understanding marine ecosystems, yet social awareness of this assemblage of organisms is often poor. Therefore, we intend to improve and increase our production of resin-embedded marine plankton specimens. Resin-embedded specimens are now registered in the ‘Database of Animal Specimens from Polar Regions’ of the NIPR. We expect that this type of preserved material will make a valuable contribution to marine education, at the primary- to graduate-school levels as well as for the general public.