Training Course on Methods of Zooplankton Ecology and Identification

venue: Institute of Marine Environment and Resources, Haiphong, Vietnam
Dates: November 14-21, 2005

As a part of a co-operative project of the Census of Marine Zooplankton (CMarZ), the above Training Course was held at the Institute of Marine Environment and Resources (IMER), Haiphong, Vietnam, during 14-21 Nov., 2005. The Course was organized by Thi Thu Nguyen (IMER), Shuhei Nishida (University of Tokyo: UT), Makoto Terazaki (UT), and Keiichi Matsuura (National Science Museum, Tokyo) and sponsored by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS: Multilateral Project-Coastal Oceanography [MPCO]) and IMER.

The Course aimed at providing graduate students and research scientists in Southeast Asian countries with comprehensive knowledge on the biology, ecology, and taxonomy of marine zooplankton and methods dealing with these subjects, with emphasis on the practical aspects of sample analysis and species identification. The Course started with one-day lectures on general introduction of marine zooplankton and sampling techniques, followed by one-day field-sampling practice in Ha Long Bay, a world heritage site. The next two days were devoted to lectures on various groups of zooplankton with reference to their morphology, ecology, diversity, and research methodology. The latter half was a three-day training in the laboratory on sample processing and species identification for major groups of zooplankton: copepods, mysids, gelatinous zooplankton, fish larvae, and demersal forms. The participants were separated into two groups for practices with person-to-person instruction, such as dissection techniques of copepod appendages. The last day was for group presentation and discussion on the results from the laboratory practice by each participant-groups.   A total of 15 trainees from various localities of Vietnam participated the Course with 9 lecturers (from Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia) and the local staffs. 

The Course was also much benefited by a free offer of 15 sets of high-quality stereo- and compound microscopes by the Carl Zeiss Company (Germany) during the practice section, which made the observation of microscopic animals really exciting.

The JSPS-MPCO members are planning to have the next training course in Malaysia during 2006; the details will be announced on the CMarZ website.