A simple hand corer for shallow water sampling

Abstract

A simple, inexpensive 2″ Hand Corer has been developed for efficiently sampling most types of shallow water sediments. The corer consists of a Lexan plastic core tube, 1-1/2″-check valve unit, and polyvinyl chloride tube handle. The 2″ Hand Corer consistently collected higher mean densities of organisms than did the Mackin Corer, resulting in more precise estimates of the mean densities of the collected taxa. Undisturbed sediment samples for pesticide, oil and grease, and heavy metals analysis also were collected.