CRITICAL POINT DRYING AS A PREPARATIVE TECHNIQUE FOR SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND ITS APPLICATION IN LIMNOLOGY

Abstract

The preservation technique of critical point drying for use with the scanning electron microscope is described. A study of the periphyton community development on the aquatic macrophyte, Potamogeton pectinatus L. from the littoral zone of Swartvlei, southern Cape Province, is used to illustrate the high degree of resolution achieved using this method.