Dry Fracturing: A Simple Technique for Scanning Electron Microscopy of Small Crustaceans and Its Application to Internal Observations of Copepods

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Abstract
Dry fracturing, a new technique for examining the internal structures of small crustaceans, is described. Following critical-point drying, specimens are mounted on a specimen stub with double-sided adhesive tape and pressed with a similar stub. The two shubs are then pulled apart so that the specimen is separated into two parts. Both fractions can be observed with a scanning electron microscope. Using this method, we directly observed internal surfaces of digestive tracts or gut contents of three copepod species. Moreover, this technique made it possible to observe the developing nauplii in an egg sac and internal parasites of the copepod. Dry fracturing is such a simple, inexpensive, and time-saving technique that it will be applicable to various research fields.