A Procedure for Extracting Large Numbers of Debris-Free, Living Nematodes from Muddy Marine Sediments

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Abstract
Procedures commonly used for extracting nematodes from sediments do not provide sufficient quantities of living, chemically unaltered individuals required for biochemical studies Microscopic hand-sorting and centrifugal flotation techniques either are too time-consuming or may be physically and/or chemically damaging to the organisms. A simple, time-efficient extraction procedure which modifies the Baermann funnel apparatus with a filtering layer of glass beads or sterile dune sand is described. With only three hours of technician time for set-up and harvesting, six funnels provided a combined yield of 35,000 living nematodes free of sediment and debris.